Soweto owes R20bn to power provider Eskom, but residents of the township only want to pay R150 a month for their power. Mpho Sesedinyane, ANC councilor and chair of the South African National Civic Organization (Sanco) in Soweto, feels that R150 is a fair amount and that, given the state of the economy, the residents can only afford to pay this much a month for power.
However, Eskom rejected the proposal of a fixed power tariff of R150 per month for electricity. Eskom spokesperson Reneilwe Semenya said this proposal by community leaders in Soweto was unrealistic and residents had to pay for what they consumed. He also referred to the Johannesburg High Court which on Tuesday rejected an application to restore power supply to Soweto and allow residents to pay a flat rate for power.
Soweto owes R20 billion of the R420 billion owed to the Johannesburg metro power supplier. Semenya believes that if a fixed power tariff is set, it will certainly give rise to a culture
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