Eskom has cut the electricity supply of two local municipalities that collectively owe R2.8bn, causing devastation for municipalities at the forefront of employment and economic activity.

Was Eskom justified in disconnecting power to local municipalities that owe it billions of rands in unpaid electricity bills and, in the process, causing harm to households and businesses that are not at fault and are being thrown into darkness?

And can Eskom unilaterally reduce power supply to municipalities in arrears or refuse them more electricity despite both parties being bound by long-standing electricity supply agreements?

These are questions that were before the Constitutional Court on 23 May as Eskom sought to overturn an earlier court's ruling that forced it to fully restore electricity to two municipalities that collectively owe it R2.8-billion. The heavily indebted municipalities are the Ngwathe Municipality in the Free State (owing Eskom R1.3-billion) and the Lekwa Municipality in Mpumalanga (owing R1.5-billion).

The Ngwathe and Lekwa local municipalities are deeply dysfunctional, Eskom has argued, as they haven't paid for the electricity they have received, even though their customers/residents pay electricity bills on time. So, residents pay electricity fees on time via pay-as-you-go meters or monthly post-paid arrangements, but the municipalities are...