Inxuba Yethemba pays R2 780.02 against a R12,8 million Eskom bill

Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality paid R2 780.02 towards an Eskom account of almost R12,8 million for one month. That is less than a quarter of one percent of what the Eastern Cape municipality owed for the electricity it had already received.

Over six billing cycles from April to September 2025, Eskom billed the municipality R111,1 million and received roughly R2 million back, according to an Eskom presentation dated 10 October 2025. The rest of the money stayed where it was. Its unpaid balance with the utility stood at about R799,8 million by August 2025.

By the end of June 2026, that overdue figure had grown to approximately R943 million, a number Eskom gave the National Council of Provinces in August 2026. The municipality was supposed to stop this from happening.

The agreement that was not kept

In April 2025, Inxuba Yethemba signed a cooperation agreement with Eskom. Under its terms, the municipality had to settle its current electricity account in full each month and put at least R500 000 towards the historic debt. It did neither. The result is a municipality that has kept adding to the pile while failing to chip away at what was already there.

Eskom also asked the municipality to sign a Distribution Agency Agreement, which the utility promotes as a way for municipalities to collect and pass on electricity revenue more reliably. Inxuba Yethemba has not committed to it.

In May 2026, Eskom changed the terms of supply. The municipality was moved onto a bulk prepayment arrangement, which means it can only draw electricity it has paid for in advance. The utility has further warned that it could act under the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act if the situation is not resolved.

One municipality in a national problem

Inxuba Yethemba is not alone, but it is an extreme case. Eskom said in 2026 that municipal debt across the country had reached R111,6 billion, even with National Treasury’s municipal debt relief programme running. Its latest reporting put arrears at roughly R119 billion by June 2026, and its projections show the figure could reach about R358 billion by the 2031 financial year if nothing decisive is done.

The scale matters because municipalities buy a large share of Eskom’s electricity. Eskom’s 2025 integrated report said municipalities accounted for 42% of its sales, and that poor payment levels weigh heavily on its revenue and its financial sustainability.

DA Eastern Cape MPL Heinrich Müller raised the Inxuba Yethemba figures after questioning Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Zolile Williams about the municipality’s Eskom debt. Müller said he will submit a formal question to the Eastern Cape Legislature asking for the municipality’s latest Eskom balance, a reconciliation of electricity revenue collected, the payments made to Eskom, and details of its compliance with the debt-relief programme.

He also asked why Inxuba Yethemba had not signed the Distribution Agency Agreement. The DA wants electricity revenue ring-fenced, the current Eskom account prioritised, and a repayment plan put in place for the historic debt.

Müller’s argument is straightforward: a municipality cannot make progress on old debt while it keeps creating new debt. The residents of Inxuba Yethemba, who pay for electricity, deserve to know where that revenue went and why the municipality did not meet its obligations.

What happens next

Müller’s question to the Eastern Cape Legislature will seek the municipality’s latest Eskom balance and the details behind it. Eskom has said it could proceed under the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act if the position is not resolved. The municipality remains on the bulk prepayment arrangement, which means the lights stay on only as long as it pays in advance.

Source: BusinessTech, The municipality that paid just R2,780 of a R12 million monthly bill