Here are the 20 South African companies which owe Eskom R274 million

Minister of Electricity and Energy, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, has shared the details about the companies that owe Eskom the most money.

These companies include Transalloys, Mittal Steel South Africa, Barplats Mines, Wild Coast Abalone, and West Coast Resources.

Ramokgopa shared these details in response to a Parliamentary question from National Assembly member Omphile Maotwe.

Maotwe asked the Minister of Electricity and Energy for the names of companies which owe Eskom the most money.

She also asked how much each company owes and the mechanisms for recovering the overdue debts.

Ramokgopa responded, saying that Eskom reports on customers with electricity debt outstanding for more than four months.

“Accordingly, the information provided is based on customers with debt older than four months, rather than the six-month period,” he said.

He added that the outstanding municipal debt is not included in this response because municipalities are not viewed as companies.

He said that there are 111 accounts at Eskom Distribution with debt outstanding for more than four months.

He said that the total debt is R299 million, and that the top 20 accounts account for R274 million, representing 92% of the total amount outstanding.

Transalloys is the biggest debtor at R85.9 million, followed by Mittal Steel South Africa at R63.7 million, and Barplats Mines at R28.0 million.

He said that 11 of the top 20 accounts are linked to payment arrangements totalling R225 million, representing 82% of the top 20 accounts’ debt value.

Ramokgopa said that these arrangements are being adhered to monthly, which should result in a lower amount of debt.

“The remaining nine accounts, with a combined debt value of R49 million, relate to customers under business rescue or where disputes are being addressed,” he said.

He explained that the focus in these cases is to ensure that current Eskom accounts remain up to date.

He added that many of the top 20 accounts are held by energy-intensive industrial customers in the ferroalloy, steel, and mining sectors.

The table below lists Eskom’s biggest debtors based on feedback from the Minister of Electricity and Energy.