North West towns under provincial administration

BRITS - Illegal connections and poor infrastructure maintenance are being blamed for constant power failures at municipalities in the North West. 

READ: Ramokgopa confident Eskom has rolling blackouts under control

The Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has been engaging with municipalities battling power cuts in the province. 

Ramokgopa is in the North West, after his visit to the Free State and Limpopo provincial governments.

His aim is to find sustainable solutions to constant power cuts and ensure a more reliable electricity supply for communities in the province. Illegal connections remain a serious concern for the North West.

The minister said, "If you look at the collective of the municipalities in the North West they owe Eskom upward of R7-billions, so that's significant. I mean if you take into account a size of these Municipalities and really the underlying problem is their inability to collect."

Old infrastructure and lack of maintenance are some of the problems and communities bear the brunt of lack of service delivery.

Following recent stage 3 blackouts, Minister Ramokgopa insists Eskom is now in the right track to eradicating power cuts.

Ramokgopa is expected to visit other provinces soon.