Four Eastern Cape municipalities are in the second phase of the National Treasury’s R2bn smart meter rollout for Eskom-indebted councils.
Enoch Mgijima was added because it is under national administration.
Raymond Mhlaba and Amahlathi were recognised for their strong debt relief performance, while Makana had already been included in phase one, as it was one of Eskom’s largest defaulter.
In the first phase of the programme, 67,000 meters were installed in eight municipalities countrywide at a cost of R500m.
National Treasury local government budget analysis director Sadesh Ramjathan told a media briefing on Wednesday that the framework had been expanded to target high wastage through the installation of three-phase and CT meters.
“In the first year, it was single-phase household meters. We have changed the framework to include the water meters and have realised that targeting three-phase and large power users in the municipal space is also a bigger benefit,” he said.
“Again, value for money where replacement of a meter in an indigent area may not be beneficial because the return on investment from that customer may not be viable in the long run unless the area is losing a tremendous amount of wastage.”
Ramjathan said the grant, which was paid directly to Treasury service providers, covered the hardware component of the meters, installation, training of municipal staff and support.
The debt-relief programme was launched in May 2023.
It allows municipalities to have their Eskom debt written off systematically over three years.
To qualify, municipalities must meet 14 financial management and compliance conditions, including staying up to date with their current Eskom account payments.
Though 71 municipalities are part of the debt programme, eight were selected for the first phase, and 11 have been added for the 2025/2026 financial year.
Though the meters were installed by March, Ramjathan said data on how much the municipalities were saving was not yet available.
The Herald
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