Stressed Johannesburgers could be facing a dark and cold winter after Eskom threatened to terminate the electricity supply to the city over unpaid debts amounting to over R5.2 billion.

This amount excludes the R1.6 billion current account debt that will be due on 5 June – a mere two weeks away.

In a statement, Eskom said that it had been cooperating with the City of Johannesburg (COJ) and the city’s electricity utility, City Power (CP), in good faith for two years to help it meet its obligations. The settlement agreement had been formalised with a court order in November last year.

“As a result of the CoJ/CP’s continued failure to honour its electricity supply agreement with Eskom, including repeated defaults, Eskom has been forced to issue a notice of its intention to reduce, interrupt, and/or terminate the supply of electricity to certain bulk supply points against the City of Johannesburg and City Power,” Eskom said.

Eskom accused the city and utility of collecting payments for electricity from its residents, but failing to pay these funds over to Eskom for the supply. This was both unjust to the residents and also posed a danger to Eskom.

“While Eskom continues to focus on being cost-efficient,” the statement continued, “escalating municipal and metro arrear debt undermines these efforts. Eskom’s financial sustainability and ability to supply electricity at affordable prices is dependent upon its ability to improve its balance sheet by increasing revenue and reducing expenses. Revenue can only be increased by collecting electricity debts and/or increasing electricity tariffs.”

This is not the first time Johannesburg has faced the possibility of being plunged into the dark: Eskom issued a similar notice in November 2024, over arrears of R4.9 billion.

Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero responded to the issue in his state of the city address on Wednesday: “We are concerned about Eskom’s latest notice, and we are taking it seriously. This challenge is not only affecting the City of Johannesburg but several municipalities across the country. We will not fight Eskom. We will work with the minister of electricity and energy, and Salga [the South African Local Government Association] to resolve this challenge.”

It has subsequently emerged in documents provided to the council that the city does not know what Eskom charges it for electricity, since City Power does not sufficiently monitor its installed meters.

Johannesburg, typically described as South Africa’s commercial capital and the wealthiest city in Africa, has seen its reputation sag in recent years, as governance failures have become increasingly apparent. Revenue from electricity constitutes a significant stream of income for the city, but there have long been concerns that much of this was being used to fund general operating expenses. In addition, many residents and even large institutional clients have avoided paying.

The culture of non-payment has been a recurring issue for local government across South Africa since the 1980s, when rent and service boycotts were used as a tool of political resistance. Cumulatively, Treasury statistics show that at the end of 2025 municipalities were owed some R53.8 billion by consumers for electricity, of which nearly 80% was overdue.

Meanwhile, municipalities owed R87.9 billion for bulk electricity purchases, of which the vast majority was also overdue, with close to half owing for more than a year.