City Power announced that customers with solar installations will be converted to postpaid billing accounts
The DA is accusing City Power of targeting Johannesburg residents who have installed solar power in their houses.
This comes after City Power released a statement earlier this week notifying residents that it has extended the deadline for the conversion of prepaid residential customers to the postpaid billing system.
The conversion process was meant to conclude at the end of December but has now been extended to 30 June 2026.
Conversion of meters for solar installations
City Power also announced that customers with solar installations, who are currently on prepaid meters, will also be converted to postpaid billing accounts.
“This measure is necessary to ensure accurate accounting of electricity imports and exports, improve network management, and align solar PV customers with the appropriate billing framework,” it said.
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The DA claims this has caused “widespread panic”.
City Power accused of ‘power grab’
One of the issues concerning the DA is that City Power is no longer stating how many customers are affected.
“In November 2025, City Power stated that 2 318 prepaid customers would be converted to postpaid billing by 31 December. The DA now calls on City Power to clarify whether this extension applies only to those customers, or whether the scope has been expanded,” said DA Johannesburg Shadow MMC for Infrastructure Services Tyrell Meyers.
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The other concern is the inclusion of solar users with prepaid meters.
Meyers accused City Power of attempting a “power grab” against residents with solar.
He suggested the move comes because the City of Johannesburg is making less money from electricity due to many residents installing solar energy systems to safeguard themselves against the city’s “failure to provide reliable electricity”.
“While the DA supports efforts to reduce revenue losses and curb illegal connections, there is no justification for targeting compliant solar users. Instead, the City should be partnering with private solar producers to stabilise the grid and reduce reliance on Eskom,” he said.
City Power claims it’s improving billing inefficiencies
In City Power’s statement, spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the conversion of meters is meant to curb revenue losses, address illegal connections and tampered meters, and improve billing accuracy.
“Since assuming the billing function, we have been hard at work stabilising and improving the billing system and methods to enhance customer experience and close historical revenue gaps caused by billing inefficiencies,” Mangena said.
Regarding solar panels, Mangena said the conversion to postpaid accounts is necessary to allow City Power to monitor their electricity use and generation.
“This measure is necessary to ensure accurate accounting of electricity imports and exports, improve network management and align solar PV customers with the appropriate billing framework,” he said.
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