Eskom is pleading with the South African Local Government Association (Salga) and the country's municipalities to settle their electricity debt.
On Tuesday, Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) heard from the inter-ministerial task team aimed at resolving the debt owed to the power utility.
The debt has escalated by over R20 billion in just a few years.
Eyewitness News parliamentary correspondent Babalo Ndenze has more.
What Eskom said is that this debt seems to be growing quite extensively over the years. From 2013 the debt was just over R1.3 billion and this year it is sitting at R23 billion and this can go to R30 billion by the end of the financial year next year.
— Babalo Ndenze, Parliamentary correspondent - Eyewitness News
Jabu Mabuza is basically begging municipalities that are represented by Salga to make an effort to try and settle this debt.
— Babalo Ndenze, Parliamentary correspondent - Eyewitness News
Ndenze says Salga is also asking households to pay their debts to municipalities.
Listen to the full interview below...