City Power CEO’s final warning: Pay up or face disconnection
Charles Tlouane, City Power acting CEO, issued a warning to customers trying to cheat the power entity during a Midrand operation uncovering illegal electricity connections, arrests, and millions of rands in outstanding debt.
City Power’s acting CEO Charles Tlouane has issued a stern warning to customers who continue to evade payment for municipal services and violate municipal by-laws.
He stated that City Power will intensify its enforcement efforts against defaulters, particularly affluent customers living in estates who refuse to meet their payment obligations.
Tlouane made these remarks during a high-impact service delivery and revenue collection operation in Midrand on June 6.
Read more: City Power concerned about illegal connections, grid strained
The operation was led by the executive mayor, members of the mayoral committee, city manager Dr Floyd Brink, and senior municipal officials. It is part of the City of Johannesburg’s ongoing efforts to improve revenue collection, enforce compliance, and protect municipal infrastructure.
“We are increasingly concerned about the blatant disregard for municipal by-laws and the growing number of customers who continue to consume electricity while deliberately avoiding their payment obligations.
“Some of the worst offenders are those living in affluent estates and behind high walls who believe they can escape accountability.
The reality is that every customer is responsible for paying for the services they consume. Revenue collected from customers enables us to maintain infrastructure, respond to outages, invest in network improvements, and provide reliable services to all residents.”
Tlouane also warned that the city would continue targeting customers involved in illegal electricity activities, including meter tampering, illegal reconnections, and electricity theft. He emphasised that customers who fail to comply with municipal regulations expose themselves to disconnections, criminal charges, arrests, and prosecution.
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The acting CEO’s comments followed significant results from the operation in Midrand. In Randjespark, officials disconnected a training center that owed City Power more than R4m after discovering that the property had allegedly reconnected itself illegally following a prior disconnection. The property’s manager was arrested by the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD).
The team then moved to Halfway House, where a student accommodation facility, owing City Power over R2.4m, was disconnected. During the operation, JMPD arrested an undocumented foreign national employed at the property.
In Kyalami, officials inspected a seemingly abandoned property with a debt exceeding R1.3m. No occupants were found, and previous attempts to engage those responsible for the property had been unsuccessful.
The operation also revealed further non-compliance in Kyalami. A residential property owing R453 187 was disconnected after officials discovered an illegal direct electricity connection.
The city instructed City Power to open a criminal case against the property owner. On Kyoto Street, another residential property, with an outstanding debt of R334 789.30, was found to have an illegally reconnected meter and was subsequently disconnected.
In Halfway Gardens, officials visited a billboard advertising business that owed City Power R72 627.
The property’s electricity supply had already been disconnected, and the owner was advised to approach the Midrand Service Delivery Centre to arrange payment. Additionally, another business in the area owing R993 049.06 was disconnected, with City Power teams removing service fuses to prevent any illegal reconnection attempts.
Eunice Mgcina, the MMC responsible for development planning, reiterated the importance of compliance with municipal by-laws, warning that unlawful activities would not be tolerated.
City Power’s head of security Sergeant Thela noted that electricity theft, meter bypassing, and illegal connections continue to cost City Power billions of rands annually in non-technical losses.
“These operations are not only about recovering revenue owed to the City; they also aim to protect infrastructure and address criminal activities, such as meter tampering and illegal electricity connections.
Such activities place immense strain on the network, compromise public safety, and negatively affect law-abiding customers who pay for services.”
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