Eskom says 87 of municipalities approved for National Treasurys municipal debt relief are not complying with the conditions of the arrangement.
And that municipal debt currently stands at R94.6 billion.
The power utility was briefing Parliaments Standing Committee on Appropriations, on its finances. It says despite interventions by the National Treasury, municipal debt remains its biggest challenge which is also a concern for MPs.
Eskom says municipality payment levels have been declining. The entity says the culture of non-payment of electricity is due to structural and systematic challenges within municipalities.
"Municipal debt is a key risk to Eskom business and our liquidity. As you know that distribution collects the money but then pays that onto transmission and generation, so the problem is not just a distribution problem but an Eskom problem on the whole. So, in terms of municipalities what we are saying in terms issues that they are struggling which obviously results in their inability to service current bills and reduce their debt, municipalities are also plagued with high energy losses in the sense that energy is either being stolen through illegal connections, meter tampering or inaccurate billing," Eskoms Rajen Naidoo.
