City Power has moved to explain and defend its decision to communicate directly with customers during electricity outages, saying the approach was prompted by persistent operational challenges and is aimed at improving the flow of accurate information to residents.

According to the utility, the decision followed repeated difficulties observed over time, including delays in circulating verified outage information, the duplication of escalation requests across multiple platforms, and situations where ward councillors were increasingly pressured to perform operational functions that fall within the responsibility of City Power officials.

Spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the intention was to improve the speed, accuracy, and consistency of information reaching customers, while allowing councillors to focus on their core roles of oversight and representation. “This is about strengthening operational communication so that customers receive verified information directly from the source, while councillors are relieved of the operational burden they often carry during outages.”

Read more: City Power streamlines customer communication to cut escalation delays

The decision was communicated to customers January 11. City Power has stressed that the move does not represent a policy shift, but rather an operational adjustment that is being implemented in phases and refined through ongoing engagement and practical experience.

Mangena said current arrangements, including the retention of councillor escalation platforms, remain interim while discussions continue on a sustainable long-term communication model. City Power has also rejected suggestions that councillors are being sidelined. Mangena said ward councillors continue to receive operational updates through existing formal channels and interim escalation platforms. “The intention was never to exclude councillors from information. What is being strengthened is our ability to communicate directly with customers as the primary recipients of service information, rather than routing all operational communication exclusively through councillors.”

The utility maintains that the move respects the constitutional role of ward councillors as elected representatives, community advocates, and oversight actors. City Power says the adjustment is intended to clarify the distinction between operational communication, which is an administrative function, and oversight and representation, which are political and governance functions.

Direct communication, the entity argues, supports councillors by reducing the pressure placed on them to co-ordinate outages in real time.

City Power says its operational experience shows that direct customer communication through official channels reduces delays caused by multiple layers of relayed information. Reference-based fault logging systems, SMS updates, and digital tracking allow customers to receive verified updates linked to specific outages, while enabling internal teams to monitor response times more effectively.

While acknowledging that improvements are still required, Mangena said these mechanisms create a clearer line of accountability and improve internal oversight of response times.

They added that its communication approach is not limited to digital platforms. “Residents without access to smartphones, data, or online services can continue to report faults and receive updates through call centres, toll-free numbers, service delivery centres, and in-person engagements. SMS communication, which does not require data, remains a key channel to ensure inclusivity. Escalation procedures for unresolved service issues also remain unchanged. Customers can escalate faults through existing channels and track progress using reference numbers issued when faults are logged.”

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Feedback and complaints are handled through City Power’s customer service systems, service delivery centres, and formal complaints processes. Councillors, meanwhile, continue to exercise oversight through established governance structures, including engagements with the relevant member of the mayoral committee, council committees, and structured briefings.

Mangena said it will measure the success of the approach through indicators, such as response times, the consistency of customer updates, escalation volumes and resolution rates, as well as feedback from customers and stakeholders.

The decision has drawn criticism from some councillors. Ward 98 councillor Beverley Jacobs said that following a meeting on January 13 with the MMC for environment and infrastructure services development, regional directors, and councillors, City Power confirmed it would not be withdrawing its operational teams from ward escalation WhatsApp groups at this stage.

Jacobs said the escalation platforms were not created as a courtesy, but as a corrective response to City Power’s deteriorating responsiveness and communication failures. “Since 2016, Democratic Alliance councillors have repeatedly raised concerns regarding City Power’s declining performance, lack of transparency, and inability to provide timely information to residents.”

She described the decision to retain the groups, pending further engagement, as the correct one, but said the initial attempt to withdraw from them without consultation was deeply concerning. “It serves as a reminder that municipal-owned entities must remain accountable to council, residents, and established governance frameworks. City Power is not autonomous, nor should it operate in isolation from the communities it serves.”
Jacobs said she would continue to insist on robust accountability mechanisms to ensure that service delivery failures are addressed in real time and that City Power fulfils its mandate as a municipal-owned entity under democratic oversight.

Ward 98: This outcome underscores the importance of democratic oversight and the constitutional role of councillors as the primary interface between residents and the city in matters of service delivery. Had councillors not objected collectively and forcefully to the unilateral withdrawal, residents would have been left with fewer channels for escalation and substantially diminished transparency during outages, vandalism incidents, and infrastructure failures. I welcome the commitment to further structured engagements with councillors and regional directors to strengthen, refine, and formalise escalation processes.

Ward 89: I feel like we, as councillors, are literally and figuratively in the dark. In an ideal world, it would have been great if City Power’s systems were working and effectively run, but the reality is that the councillors on the ground used to be, or are, the only link between people restoring power and the residents. We, as councillors, are on the ground, giving updates, and now they do not want to deal with us anymore.

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