In a joint statement late on Thursday night, the City of Johannesburg and its electricity supply utility, City Power, described Eskom's move as "unjust, counterproductive and potentially harmful to residents and businesses".
Eskom said in a statement on Thursday that it had written to the city, informing it that it would commence cutting power soon if the city did not settle its debt of R4.9-billion plus R1.4-billion that will fall due at the end of this month.
The power will be interrupted at "certain pre-determined times of day in accordance with the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act Paja", Eskom said.
"Despite all the avenues that Eskom explored and efforts to accommodate the CoJ, the matter has reached a point where Eskom can simply no longer afford to accommodate the city without putting further financial strain on and harming its own business," the state-owned electricity utility said.
"A final decision on whether Eskom will proceed with the interruption will be communicated after a review of the representations received through the Paja process on 12 December 2024."
