The municipalities in Mpumalanga, Free State, North West and the Northern Cape now have until the end of the week to make payment arrangements.
The municipalities had until Wednesday morning to settle their accounts but Eskom says it decided to hand them another life line.
Spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe said, “We are not going to switch them off today, in fact the whole of this week. We have decided to give them final notices for the duration of this week and from next week we will see how they’ve responded to this.”
Last month, Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown said it's critical for all municipalities to institute prepaid billing to help build a payment culture in communities.
She also urged municipalities to move quickly to collect money.
Earlier in January, the High Court in Pretoria granted the utility permission to cut power supply to several towns.
The minister said the cutting of power could be disastrous.
“So we have got to work on a plan that’s a lot more sustainable. There must be a council resolution that the council must act on.”
There were concerns that the cuts could impact negatively on businesses and industries.
To understand how municipal spending has had a direct impact on service delivery, including the provision of water and electricity, visit EWN’s Municipal Audit Portal.
