Municipal Debt Piles Pressure on Eskom’s Restructuring Efforts

  • Towns and city councils owe Eskom more than $5 billion
  • Board concerned over non-compliance with debt-relief program
An electrical transmission tower and power lines in the Ivory Park settlement in the Ekurhuleni municipality of Johannesburg.Photographer: Leon Sadiki/Bloomberg
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Billions of rand that South African municipalities owe Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. are hindering the state-owned power utility’s plan to restructure and separate its distribution unit, according to Chairman Mteto Nyati.

South Africa’s municipalities owed Eskom 95.4 billion rand ($5.1 billion) by November as they struggle to collect revenue from customers and available funds are sometimes misappropriated after years of mismanagement.