Ramokgopa meets NW municipalities over electricity crisis
Energy and Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said illegal connections and a weakened capacity to collect revenue remain a concern in most North West municipalities.
The minister visited the Madibeng Local Municipality in Brits on Monday, where he met with leaders of local government to propose interventions to the ongoing electricity challenges.
Ramokgopa said, like most local governments in the country, North West municipalities are in the red with Eskom.
“If you look at the collective of municipalities in the North West, they owe Eskom upwards of R7 billion. That’s significant if you take into account the size of these municipalities. The underlying problem is their inability to collect, and as a result of that, they cannot meet their commitments to Eskom.
“They are also unable to provide reliable electricity supply for customers in their spaces. We have seen in Ditsobotla that some of their investors have relocated, causing significant economic devastation to that area.”
[WATCH] Energy and Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa held an intergovernmental engagement with leaders of North West municipalities and the province with an aim to tackle critical electricity challenges and introduce effective solutions. #EskomDebt #ElectricityCrisis pic.twitter.com/eLLEwmLQ6Q
— Jacaranda News (@JacaNews) March 10, 2025
Meanwhile, Ramokgopa said Eskom was looking into ways to support the embattled Ditsobotla Local Municipality in the North West after the premier asked the entity to take over the supply of electricity in the area.
Service delivery in Ditsobotla has been marred by political instability, with two African National Congress officials, Mazwi Moruri and Molefe Morutse, declaring themselves the rightful mayor.
In 2022, dairy company Clover closed its cheese factory in Lichtenburg over unreliable water and electricity supply and poor road infrastructure.
Ramakgopa said it remains the local government’s constitutional obligation to connect and supply electricity to households, but his department will intervene to protect customers and local economies.
“We will work with them while ringfencing the electricity function as Eskom rolls out the infrastructure. The last thing you want is for customers and industries to be casualties of the challenges in government. So, [Eskom will help] guarantee sustainable supply, and then work with the municipality to build the right technical capacity and the funding that is needed to refurbish distribution assets like transformers and sub-stations.”
Morutse attended the meeting and said they welcomed the proposed interventions by both the national and provincial governments.
ALSO READ:
