City Power engages with residents on power outages

City Power (CP) hosted an open public meeting at the Phelindaba Chamber on Wednesday, January 21, to engage residents on ongoing electricity challenges affecting Ward 97.

According to Ward 97 councillor Jacques Hoon, the initiative aims to give residents direct access to decision-makers and officials, rather than intermediaries. He said the meetings improve accountability by allowing commitments to be made in a public forum and allowing residents to raise concerns, propose solutions and participate constructively.

“Open meetings of this nature are a core part of my legal responsibilities under the Municipal Systems Act. These engagements are essential for facilitating public participation, representing community concerns and holding municipal entities accountable,” said Hoon.

During the meeting, CP acknowledged the severity and frequency of power outages in parts of Ward 97 and outlined both short-term investigations and longer-term stabilisation measures. Officials are committed to investigating recurring outages along Florin Road and the surrounding suburbs, identifying root causes and providing feedback on corrective actions.

CP further confirmed progress on the Eagle Canyon double-line project, which is currently underway and expected to be completed within one to two weeks. Once completed, the project is expected to significantly improve network resilience in the area, Hoon added.

In Ikemeleng Village, CP is committed to dispatching officials immediately to assess and resolve ongoing metering issues so that residents can correctly load electricity onto properly allocated meters. Residents were urged to email a clear photograph of the meter reading, meter number and visible date to mrakasa@citypower.co.za.

“I’m glad to participate in this initiative. We presented all our different electricity challenges to City Power. All we need is for them to work on what we’ve presented,” said Ward 97 resident Luyanda Mzobe.

The meeting resulted in clear outcomes, strengthening accountability, clarifying problem areas and establishing concrete follow-up actions with timelines.

Ward 97 residents experienced increased power outages in the final days of last year, leaving some uncertain about how and when to seek assistance from CP, particularly as some reports were categorised with neighbouring areas.

Hoon confirmed to the Roodepoort Northsider that his office will continue to monitor progress on all undertakings made by CP and ensure that regular feedback is shared with residents as updates are received.