WATCH: South Hills residents demand answers from City Power over ongoing electricity woes

City Power acting CEO Charles Tlouane and members of his executive management team engaged residents from Wards 56, 57, 65 and 124 during the ninth City Power Electricity Imbizo at South Rand Recreation Centre in South Hills on Wednesday.

The meeting provided residents with an opportunity to raise electricity-related concerns directly with the utility’s leadership while receiving updates on electricity services and infrastructure challenges affecting their communities.

Discussions focused on network reliability, infrastructure maintenance, metering, billing, street lighting and customer service, as well as the shared responsibility of City Power and communities in protecting electricity infrastructure.

Residents used the platform to express their frustrations about recurring service delivery problems.

Wenda Peterson said elderly residents were particularly affected by the ongoing electricity and water challenges.

“As old people, we are struggling because if it is not power outages, it is water. I plead with City Power to assist our councillors so that they can give residents the correct information,” she said.

Carol Lia from Ward 124 raised concerns about vandalised electricity boxes that were not properly repaired after power was restored.

“Every time there is an electricity box that is left open or vandalised, City Power comes out to restore the power after a couple of days, but they do not come back to fix the boxes. Streetlights are also not working at major intersections such as Rifle Road and Kliprivier Drive, and Rifle and Xavier roads. It is dark in these areas, as well as several other places,” she said.

Abram Brown from Ward 57 questioned a bill of R20 000 for a residential property that does not operate as a business.

“Is it normal for an ordinary household without a business to receive a bill of R20 000? I went to City Power Block B, where I was told someone would be sent to assist me, but nobody came. I want to give you my statement so that we can establish what is happening,” he said.

Responding to the concerns, Tlouane said City Power was in South Hills to account for electricity services, explain the challenges affecting supply and outline interventions aimed at improving reliability.

He acknowledged residents’ frustrations over power interruptions, recurring cable faults, delays in restoring electricity and malfunctioning streetlights.

He said electricity was essential to households, businesses and public institutions, and that City Power remained committed to upgrading ageing infrastructure.

However, he emphasised that revenue collected from electricity payments was necessary to fund maintenance, infrastructure upgrades and timely responses to faults.

“Illegal connections, meter bypassing, electricity theft and vandalism place pressure on the network and cost City Power significant amounts. The vandalism of streetlights, mini-substations and other electrical equipment further undermines service delivery and community safety,” he said.

Tlouane urged residents to report illegal connections, meter tampering, cable theft and vandalism.

He said City Power was working with the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department and the SAPS to address these challenges, but community involvement remained essential.

He encouraged households struggling to afford electricity to register for the Expanded Social Package, while residents with outstanding accounts were urged to explore the city’s Debt Relief Programme.

He warned that those found making illegal connections or bypassing electricity meters would face disconnection and applicable penalties.

During the question-and-answer session, Tlouane acknowledged the issues raised and provided feedback, committing that some queries would be resolved by the end of the day.

The remaining concerns were recorded for further attention, with technicians to be assigned to investigate and implement the necessary interventions.

City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the electricity imbizos formed part of an ongoing community engagement programme, which began in Alexandra.

“We are here to understand the challenges residents are facing and try to come up with solutions. The meeting went very well, and we thank the councillors and the community.

“We want the community to be angry with us, disappointed with us and concerned with us so that we can go back to our teams at City Power and ensure that these issues are taken seriously. These include prolonged power outages, theft and vandalism,” he said.

Mangena welcomed the CEO’s directives for teams to attend to reported outages and said elderly care facilities experiencing electricity interruptions would be prioritised for generator support.

He also addressed complaints about the conduct of City Power employees and contractors, particularly those who allegedly treated residents disrespectfully during meter readings and repair work.

“We take these issues seriously. During our customer satisfaction survey, residents also raised concerns about staff members and contractors who arrive, kick doors and demand access to read meters or fix electricity. That is not how City Power should operate.

“We have ways of treating our customers. We treat them as kings, and we have started an etiquette training programme for all our staff members, technicians and contractors,” he said.