City Power said copper theft, ghost vouchers and 20% electricity losses were key issues.
Image for illustrative purposes. Picture: iStock
City Power said copper theft and a security breach in its prepaid metering system dominated its 10th Electricity Imbizo in Randburg on Wednesday.
Acting CEO Charles Tlouane called for wider action against infrastructure theft, while residents raised concerns about outages and delayed meter conversions, according to a City Power media statement.
Calls for wider action on metal theft
Tlouane told residents that the theft of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, especially copper, disrupted supply in Randburg and across the city.
He argued that City Power could not solve the problem alone.
“Tlouane said there was a need for a collective effort led by law enforcement agencies, involving relevant government departments, communities, and stakeholders in the metal-trading industry,” City Power stated.
He also criticised scrapyards that operated outside regulatory requirements.
According to the utility, he claimed weak oversight by authorities encouraged the theft and vandalism of electricity infrastructure.
“He emphasised that efforts to combat cable theft must also address the market for stolen metals, including those who buy, trade and benefit from stolen materials,” the statement noted.
Electricity losses linked to informal settlements
Tlouane then turned to the wider losses facing the network.
“City Power’s non-technical losses are at about 20%, and that is way too much,” Tlouane said.
He blamed illegal activity in informal settlements.
“It’s simply because when you look at Johannesburg, you have about 400 informal settlements all contributing towards this problem through electricity theft, illegal connections, unauthorised vending, among others,” he explained.
He also pointed to the state of the network.
“The ageing electricity infrastructure is also susceptible to leakages and faults, which lead to losses,” he added.
Ghost vouchers delay prepaid and postpaid conversions
Residents complained about frequent outages, poor repair quality and the cost of electricity.
They also questioned delays in converting some postpaid customers to prepaid and vice versa.
City Power suspended those conversions last year to clean up its system and data.
Chief Commercial Officer Thamsanqa Mathiso said the clean-up led to an investigation that uncovered a serious breach.
The prepaid system had been compromised by so-called ghost vouchers.
“This confirms the initial decision to clean up the system through, among others, the stand by stand audits, which affected the conversion process,” City Power stated.
The utility had expected the probe to end earlier.
“City Power had initially anticipated that the investigation would be concluded by the end of the previous financial year in June 2026,” Mathiso explained.
Delays followed. “However, the matter has taken longer than expected, prompting the entity to source the services of an external service provider to assist with the investigation,” he stated.
According to City Power, the prepaid-to-postpaid programme targeted residential customers whose meters were not vending electricity.
The utility said this raised concerns about tampering, bypassing and unaccounted-for consumption.
Network upgrades under way in Randburg
City Power also updated residents from Wards 98, 99, 102 and 104 on its infrastructure work.
It said crews had replaced about 1,600 metres of feeder cable in Bryanston Extension 3.
The Fontainebleau underground cable project reached 98% completion, while Ferndale crews were replacing about 600 metres of feeder cable.
“City Power reported that its medium-voltage projects across the Randburg SDC had reached 82% overall progress,” the statement said.
Public lighting work reached 85% in Randpark, 84% in Ferndale and 85% in Bryanbrink and Daniel Brink.
“The Electricity Imbizo provided an opportunity for residents to engage directly with City Power on challenges affecting their communities, while receiving updates on the entity’s infrastructure projects, revenue protection initiatives and efforts to improve service delivery,” City Power noted.
