City Power will not assist defaulting customers during power outages

The power utility says it will no longer assist customers who are not paying for electricity during power outages as South Africans continue to be plunged into darkness by Eskom.

Eskom is currently implementing Stage 6 load shedding until further notice. Rolling blackouts continue to contribute to power outages in various parts of the country as municipal infrastructure is affected.

CITY POWER ‘TO PUNISH’ DEFAULTING CUSTOMERS

In an interview with Newzroom Afrika, City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the company is in a dire situation because of customers who are not paying for electricity.

Mangena said there’s about R10 billion that is owed to them by defaulting customers and they really need that money in order to provide a reliable supply of electricity and do maintenance.

“We are really at a stage where we are not going to respond to any calls, especially from people that have not paid. We will first go to the metre and if it is bypassed or you’re owing the city, we are not going to do any maintenance,” Mangena said.

VARIOUS INSTITUTIONS OWE R10 BILLION

In February this year, Mangena revealed that businesses, government departments, and residential customers owe the utility about R1.2 billion while residents across Johannesburg owe power suppliers about R7.9 billion, with most of the debt sitting in the inner city.

The utility’s CEO Tshifhularo Mashava also revealed that they have since collected about R3.8 billion from defaulting customers as part of their revenue collection campaign.

“It is sad that customers, who have the ability to pay for services, do not pay. We give them an opportunity to pay, but as a last resort, we have no choice but to disconnect businesses, government institutions, and residential households,” she said in February.

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