Municipalities owe Eskom R122.5 billion. 110 councils are behind by R1m+

Municipalities owed Eskom R122.5 billion in overdue electricity bills by 31 August 2026, and 110 of them are each behind by more than R1 million, Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said in a written reply to Parliament (MyBroadband).

That is roughly 43% of South Africa's 257 municipalities (MyBroadband).

How fast is the debt growing?

Quickly. The arrears stood at R119 billion in early August, and about R103.5 billion a year earlier (MyBroadband). Between August 2025 and August 2026 municipalities added an average of R1.583 billion a month in unpaid Eskom bills (MyBroadband).

Source: MyBroadband, citing Eskom and Ramokgopa's parliamentary reply.

Eskom warned a year ago that the debt could pass R300 billion by 2030 (MyBroadband).

Who asked, and why does it matter?

The question came from DA MP Kevin Mileham, his party's electricity spokesperson, who wanted to know how many municipalities were not paying Eskom in full and on time (MyBroadband).

Eskom chairman Mteto Nyati has said fixing municipal debt is key to the utility's finances and its ability to repay its own loans (MyBroadband).

Why can't some municipalities pay?

Many lose large amounts of power they never bill for. eMalahleni in Mpumalanga lost R441 million over nine months to illegal connections, meter tampering, vandalism and old infrastructure, according to MyBroadband's earlier reporting (MyBroadband). It also has 77 informal settlements that are not formally connected or billed (MyBroadband).

Does this affect your electricity?

If you buy power from your municipality, your payments go to the council, which then pays Eskom. When that money doesn't reach Eskom, the debt builds up. Ramokgopa's reply, as reported, gives totals and does not list a cut-off plan for any municipality (MyBroadband).

Separately, Eskom uses load reduction (planned rotational outages in specific areas with heavy illegal connections) and says it wants to end it by 2027 by rolling out smart meters (MyBroadband).

To find out where your own municipality stands, check its latest annual report or ask your ward councillor.