Civil rights organisation AfriForum on Tuesday said it would do all it could to prevent State-owned power utility Eskom from unfairly cutting electricity supply to consumers.

This followed after Eskom, on Friday, warned that it was considering implementing regulated interruptions in electricity supply of up to seven hours a day to 20 municipalities that were defaulting on payments to the utility.

The total municipal arrear debt greater than 30 days had grown to R4.6-billion by the end of March.

AfriForum community affairs manager Tiaan Esterhuizen said the organisation had given its legal team instruction to make the necessary preparations.

“AfriForum will not stand by and watch how loyal rate payers are [unfairly] left in the dark because of poor financial management by municipalities.”

He added that AfriForum obtained interdicts against Eskom in the past and would not hesitate to protect the rights of communities. In their previous interdicts, AfriForum had asked the courts to force municipalities to adhere to a payback agreement.

This put Eskom in a position to move forward with a contempt of court process should municipalities fail to pay up.

“Municipalities who fail to pay their electricity accounts should be stripped of their licences to supply electricity by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa,” said Esterhuizen.

Further, the organisation believed that privatising electricity management would cancel out incapable municipalities and prevent problems regarding electricity supply.

“The privatising of electricity supply would also make debt collection more sufficient and more accurate bills would be provided to consumers,” it noted.

Eskom noted on Friday that nonpayment for electricity undermined its statutory obligation to generate and supply electricity to municipalities nationally on a financially sustainable basis.