Question NW1342 to the Minister of Public Enterprises
25 May 2016 - NW1342
Mazzone, Ms NW to ask the Minister of Public Enterprises
(1) (a) How many residents are receiving electricity from Eskom in each suburb of Soweto, Gauteng, and (b) how many of these residents are paying for the services rendered by Eskom; (2) whether there are any plans to waive debts owed by residents of Soweto to Eskom for services rendered; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details; (3) whether any agreements have been signed with the City of Johannesburg to take over the supply of electricity to Soweto through City Power; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
(1)(a) 180 000 customers receive electricity from Eskom in Soweto, however, this translates into more residents which Eskom is not in a position to quantify (as more people reside in a given home). Eskom keeps customer data per customer category and network, and it would take a while for this to be provided per suburb.
(b) Of the 180 000 customers, our current payment levels are at 48% average for the current financial year to date, compared to an average of 40% in the previous financial year. Eskom has replaced 40 000 old meters of which 18 000 customers are on prepaid already and buying electricity and the balance is being converted to prepaid daily. The programme of installing the meters is continuing and plans are to convert all customers to prepaid within five years.
(2) Yes, Eskom has an incentive programme in place where customers converted to prepaid meters are monitored over a period of three years to establish if the behaviour of buying electricity becomes entrenched. Writing off the historical debt is considered if good behaviour is sustained during the monitoring period. Each customer is dealt with on an individual basis.
(3) No. There are no agreements in place for the City of JHB to take over Eskom Soweto supply areas. Eskom works very closely with the Municipality to address the issue of non-payment and the rolling out of the prepaid meters. Engagements with the community are conducted with the support of the leadership of the Municipality and alignment on issues such as dealing with the poor and debt issues are continuously discussed and agreed upon.