Eskom has issued a notice warning the City of Johannesburg that it will be disconnected from the power grid.
Hours before delivering his 2026 state of the city (Soca) speech, the mayor of Johannesburg, Dada Mororo, was frantically trying to resolve a debt dispute between the City of Johannesburg and Eskom, which threatened to plunge the city into darkness.
On Tuesday, Eskom issued a notice warning the City of Johannesburg (COJ) that it intended to reduce or disconnect some areas from the grid for the city’s failure to meet its debt repayments. According to Eskom, the city owes R5.25 billion. This amount excludes a current account, which is due on 5 June 2026.
This is the second time in a matter of weeks that a government institution has complained about the City of Johannesburg’s failure to meet its financial obligations on time. Finance minister Enoch Godongwana wrote a letter to Morero on 23 April, warning that if the municipality continues on its wayward course, Treasury will withhold the R8 billion due to the City in July.
ANC demands urgent meeting
The Citizen understands that Morero had been on calls with Eskom officials hours before he delivers his Soca address, trying to resolve the matter.
He is expected to touch on the crisis in his speech to residents on Wednesday afternoon.
His party, the ANC, has also called for urgent engagements between its deployed members in the council and Eskom.
Regional secretary, Sasa Manganye, told The Citizen that the ANC has already engaged the minister of Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, who has agreed to meet with the mayor and his team to resolve the matter.
Manganye said the city must reach a new agreement with Eskom on how it will repay past debt.
“The current agreement is unsustainable, and it’s not realistic. What the City must do is come up with another one, and they must be able to honour it,” he said.
Manganye said that there should be a harmonious working relationship between City Power and Eskom.
“These are both government agencies, and they exist to serve the public, so they must work with each other and not against each other,” he said.
Manganye described the matter as urgent and said the ANC expected a report back from its deployees in two weeks.
It is understood that parties in coalition with the ANC in the city are closely watching the speech, and the mayor’s response to the issue may lead to further tensions.
Someone needed to step in: OUTA
CEO of the civil action organisation Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), Wayne Duvenage, told The Citizen that it would be interesting to see how Morero navigates the crisis in his speech and beyond.
“We think the Eskom development is a pertinent issue when it comes to the state of the city’s financial hygiene and general management of its affairs.
“The stage for provincial intervention into the CoJ’s affairs was long overdue, and one gathers that the close political relationships and lack of leadership by [Gauteng Premier] Panyaza Lesufi and his cohorts have a lot to do with their inaction.
“We are pleased at the National Treasury’s intervention, which is long overdue, not only in the provision of assistance, but more so in holding current leadership to account.”
Civil society organisation Joburg Community Action Network (JoburgCAN)’s Julia Fish noted that this is not the first time Eskom has “had to resort to legal action to get Joburg to pay its bill.”
“Last time, the City narrowly avoided having several areas disconnected through intervention from the Minister of Electricity. However, that intervention was reliant on City Power continuing to pay its current account. Despite assurances from the mayor that the City is not bankrupt, the continued late payment and escalating debt to Eskom show the opposite.”
She told The Citizen the city is not managing its expenses, reducing non-revenue losses, or incentivising lower-cost electricity, like buying from residential solar users.
‘Lack of transparency’ from the City
DA caucus leader in the City of Johannesburg, Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku, told The Citizen on Tuesday that it is unfortunate that another government agency has had to warn the City of Johannesburg about the poor state of its financial administration.
“The DA has consistently raised concerns about the deteriorating financial position of the City, yet these warnings were ignored. The fact that Section 79 committee meetings, which are responsible for oversight, have been cancelled on more than one occasion demonstrates the complete lack of transparency within this administration.
“Residents should not bear the brunt of the failures of the ANC-led administration while service delivery continues to collapse,” said Kayser-Echeozonjoku.
ActionSA mayoral candidate Herman Mashaba also expressed concern at Eskom’s latest threat against the City of Johannesburg.
“The notice to the city comes on the backdrop of Eskom announcing a milestone 365 days without load shedding. Yet, as the country celebrates progress in stabilising electricity supply, the City of Joburg risks plunging its own residents back into darkness simply because it has failed to pay its bills.
“Johannesburg is a strategic and global economic mecca. Any interruption to electricity supply will have devastating consequences for households, hospitals, schools, small businesses, and the broader economy.”
He said at a time when the country is attempting to rebuild confidence after years of rolling blackouts, the city’s inability to honour its obligations “threatens to reverse hard-won progress”.