Ngwathe Local Municipality in the northern Free State has paid R1.1-million to Eskom so it can repair damages to the power line in the area caused by overloading.
Eskom provincial spokesperson Stefanie Jansen van Rensburg said in a statement the payment was made on Monday morning and work to restore supplies to Parys and Vredefort has started.
“Repairs to the Eskom equipment will now commence,” said Van Rensburg.
“Based on the assessments of the damage, supply to Ngwathe should be restored by midnight tonight,” she added.
The spokesperson however said the initial repairs were focusing on the hot connections and will only be temporary to assist communities.
Another outage will be scheduled to repair the transformer bushings that were also damaged during the overloading incident.
The Ngwathe electrical network tripped on Friday and damaged Eskom’s equipment due to overloading.
“Since 2018, Eskom has warned Ngwathe that their continued exceedance of their Notified Maximum Demand (NMD) – the contracted amount of electricity supplied by Eskom to the Municipality – will eventually result in damage to the Eskom network and that the municipality needs to apply for an upgrade in their NMD.
“In August 2021 and in April 2022, Eskom informed the municipality that any damage to the Eskom network that is caused by the municipality’s negligence, will be at the municipality’s cost.
“The municipality agreed to this condition and, although they were well informed and aware of the risks, they did not take the necessary precautions or made sufficient efforts to upgrade their NMD,” Van Rensburg explained.
Following the incident, Eskom insisted on the municipality making an upfront payment as it is one of the municipalities in the province sitting with a huge debt to the national power utility.
As at end June, Ngwathe’s overdue debt to Eskom totalled R1.89 billion.
Eskom says this debt continues to grow as current accounts are not paid in full.
“Ngwathe’s non-adherence to payment conditions and negligence in protecting the power system, jeopardises Eskom’s financial sustainability as well as the security of supply to the residents of towns such as Parys and Vredefort.
“Supply to Ngwathe will be restored to the capacity as per the contracted NMD.
“Risks of overloading and consequent damage remain, and it is imperative that the municipality invests in upgrading its supply,” according to the power company. – Staff Reporter