Eskom says it can't commit to compensating businesses affected by power cuts in Mahikeng. 

The power utility's customer relations manager, Ezekiel Baruti, told News24 that the power outages, which lasted for more than a week, had affected residential homes and businesses, including mortuaries.

The town was plunged into darkness after a substation exploded.

"We cannot promise businesses to compensate them, but we empathise with what happened. We know that small and medium businesses suffered and people bought things like meat in their households, but we are not responsible for the explosion. We are awaiting the results of the investigation," he said.

Baruti said the substation had cables that connected the electricity supply in several surrounding areas. 

He added that Eskom had not yet quantified the extent of the damage to local businesses. 

While power was back on in "80%" of the town, some parts were still without electricity, he said. Some areas, like Danville, had been affected by vandalism.

"Two people were caught in Danville yesterday (Sunday) after they vandalised the substation in that area," he said.

"They vandalised the area during power outages, and when the power comes back, that part will not have electricity."