Johannesburg power utility, City Power, has filed an appeal against a court decision ordering it to pay more than R1 billion to Eskom.
This comes after the ruling in the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, on Thursday after Eskom approached the court on an urgent basis last month in a bid to recover outstanding payments for services since October last year.
City Power has accused the power utility of over-billing it to the amount of R3.4bn. However, the court on Thursday ruled against City Power and ordered it to pay R1.073bn to Eskom.
Last month, Eskom said that from March last year City Power’s debt had swelled to more than R1.073bn.
In a statement, City Power spokesperson, Isaac Mangena, said there were critical aspects that were not accounted fully in the court ruling.
“While we accept and respect the court’s decision, the city reserves the right to appeal the ruling.
“It should be highlighted that despite City Power’s efforts to engage in mediation and exhaust all Inter-Governmental Relations (IGR) dispute resolution processes to resolve the matter, Eskom bypassed these avenues and rushed to court to seek a resolution.
“It is equally crucial to highlight that Eskom currently owes City Power a substantial amount of R3.4bn, underscoring the complexity of the dispute and the necessity for a comprehensive and fair resolution process,” he said.
At the weekend, IOL reported that the City of Joburg and its power utility, City Power, were ordered to pay Eskom R1.073bn plus interest for unpaid services.
According to reports, in its attempts to get away with the bill, the city submitted its own counter claim of R3.4bn, saying it was part of an over-billing error.
On Friday, Eskom Gauteng spokesperson Amanda Qithi welcomed the judgment, saying: “The matter was heard on June 4 with the total owed to Eskom being R3.4bn.
“In response to our claim, the city brought a counter-claim, alleging potential over-billing and that as a result, it has applied for automatic set-off against (the) Eskom account.
“However, the court dismissed the city’s counter-claim with costs. We have written to COJ, requesting the payment of the full amount of R3.4bn by June 21 (Friday),” she said.
The Star