South African Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa urges Eskom to continue supplying electricity to Johannesburg despite the City of Johannesburg’s reported R7 billion debt. Both outlets report that he is asking Eskom to keep the lights on, even as the outstanding payment issue remains unresolved.
The accounts also note Ramokgopa’s acknowledgement that, under normal market conditions, Johannesburg would likely already have been disconnected. In other words, the minister frames the request as an exception to how disconnections typically occur when municipal payments are not brought up to date.
While both sources focus on the same core message—Eskom’s continued supply versus the city’s debt—differences are limited in the provided excerpts. Both emphasize the amount of the debt and the minister’s reasoning that disconnection would follow in a fully functioning system. Neither excerpt provides detailed follow-up steps, timelines, or responses from Eskom or the city beyond the call to maintain supply.
