City of Joburg hits back at Eskom's R1bn demand with R3.4bn overbilling claim

The City of Johannesburg has countered Eskom's R1 billion claim with a R3.4 billion overcharge allegation, vowing to challenge the utility's court bid.

This is after Eskom's urgent application on Friday against the City and its electricity utility, City Power, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) and the National Treasury over an electricity debt of over R1 billion.

In an affidavit before the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg, Eskom's revenue management manager, Susan Smith, said that despite the company's "best efforts" to get the City to pay up, "the matter had reached a point where Eskom can simply no longer afford to accommodate the City without harming its own business".