Defaulting customers urged to settle their accounts
Starting from May, City Power will embark on ward to ward engagement with its customers.
City Power Hursthill Service Delivery Centre (SDC) commended the business community of Amalgam, who assisted in safeguarding critical electricity infrastructure.
Hursthill SDC held a customer day with the local business forum on April 13, as part of a broader client engagement programme, to address some of their most pressing service delivery concerns.
City Power used this opportunity to highlight the need for revenue collection, which is key to infrastructure development, maintenance and continued provision of an uninterrupted power supply.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the organisation’s financial difficulties are common knowledge.
“This financial constraint, exacerbated by load-shedding, makes it extremely challenging to continue providing a reliable and secure power supply.
“City Power, through its SDCs including Hursthill, has embarked on an engagement drive to improve customer experience, with the hope that it will translate into increased revenue collection.
“Of over R10b owed to City Power, R1.2b is in the pockets of defaulting and non-paying customers in Hursthill. Business owners from Amalgam and surrounds owe around R16m,” he said.
During the meeting, business owners raised several concerns, such as prolonged outages, especially during load-shedding, which negatively impact their operations.
Another point the business owners raised, much to the appreciation of City Power, was their active involvement in patrolling and securing the network and other essential electricity infrastructure.
The business community expressed readiness to work with the entity through its programme to partner with communities to address infrastructure theft and vandalism. They requested the repair of streetlights, which would increase visibility and deter criminals from theft and vandalism.
Responding to their remarks, the general manager for Hursthill SDC, Noel Maso, committed to increased support, including expediting the installation of lights along the network line.
“We appreciate the valuable contribution you have made during this session. We will formulate programmes to swiftly and sufficiently respond to your concerns. Our team is always ready to address any of your challenges, be it over billing problems, tariffs, or arrangements for payment of debt.
“I cannot overemphasise as an organisation, we cannot exist without valuable customers,” he said.
Members of the local business forum expressed interest and willingness to work with City Power to minimise power outages which have negative financial implications for both parties. City Power is rolling out similar customer engagement programmes across the city to improve the quality of customer service.
Mangena said they would communicate details of the next customer day of Hursthill and other SDCs in due course.
“We urge customers to take part in shaping the kind of service they want from City Power. A revenue collection drive will follow these programmes. They urged customers to settle their accounts or enter into an agreement with the city, to avoid being disconnected,” he noted.
