Eskom to take control of Mbombela’s electricity

Eskom is set to take control of electricity     distribution operations in 47 municipalities through distribution agency agreements.  This is according to the 2025 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, which revealed that of the municipalities that applied for the municipal debt relief programme, 47 remain in default.  While 24 municipalities have qualified for the first one-third write off after 12 consecutive months of payments and 21 have generally maintained payments, as of 7 May 2025, 47 remain in default.  This is the combined result of weak collections, excessive electricity and water losses due primarily to lack of       maintenance, and inadequate credit control. To this end, a municipal utility reform          programme will be piloted at the Mbombela, Govan Mbeki, Lekwa and eMalahleni          municipalities later this year.  Treasury is   working with African Development Bank and donor partners to implement a pilot Municipal Utility Reform Programme under a results-based AfDB concessional loan.  It aims to  stabilize and professionalise core municipal utilities (water and electricity) by reducing  losses, introducing cost-effective tariffs, ringfencing revenues, improving asset care and enhancing governance and reporting.