ESKOM and the Msunduzi Municipality have entered into an arrangement that will see the power utility assist the municipality with maintenance of the city’s electricity infrastructure and capacity building.
The memorandum was signed on Wednesday morning.
Eskom said it was a three-year agreement and during the period it will assist the municipality to rebuild their internal technical and administration capacity, and to boost revenue collection.
In a statement, Eskom said in terms of the agreement, it has been appointed as Network Maintenance Services agent and to assist the municipality with capacity building and skills transfer.
The Mercury reported a few weeks ago that the municipality was in negotiation with Eskom for it to take over the maintenance of some of the city’s substations.
This after storms and a fire had caused extensive damage to one of the city’s main substations resulting in power outages that left thousands of residents without power for days at a time.
In terms of the agreement, said the statement, the priority will be given to the maintenance and upgrade of the municipality’s distribution network, including the maintenance and the upgrade of substations.
For its service, Eskom will invoice the municipality accordingly and the municipality will reimburse Eskom for the costs incurred.
“The municipality and Eskom are in talks for a possible increase in the scope of the agreement to include account management, billing system and revenue collection,” said the statement.
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