The R8 billion owed to Eskom by Emfuleni for bulk electricity represents about 10% of the total R82bn owed by municipalities.

Eskom says it cannot financially sustain the electricity debt of the municipality without severely impacting its own operations.

Residents of Emfuleni could face worsening power outages and infrastructure decay as Eskom enforces debt repayment on the municipality.

The South African power utility says it has saved more than R12 billion in diesel expenditure thanks to a loadshedding-free winter period, Cape {town}...