City Power claims it has made progress in stabilising finances and recovering lost income after it took over billing responsibilities from the City of Johannesburg.
On Friday, the utility announced it has gained more than R1 billion in revenue under its financial sustainability programme.
It confirmed it has reached approximately R1.025 billion through its Gross Margin Turnaround Project, which was launched at the start of the 2025/26 financial year in July 2025.
The project aims to recover and optimise R2.9 billion by the end of the financial year in June 2026.
“This progress comes at a critical time following City Power’s assumption of billing responsibilities from the City of Johannesburg in July 2025.
“The transition has placed the utility at the centre of revenue management, customer account verification and billing accuracy,” said Chief Commercial Officer Thamsanqa Mathiso.
The intervention, initiated by outgoing CEO Tshifularo Mashava, targets the regularisation and auditing of 44 000 meters while improving revenue management processes to reduce both technical and non-technical losses.
Billing corrections
According to City Power, about 40% of the enhanced revenue stems from manual adjustments.
These corrections addressed incorrectly programmed meters, illegal connections, unbilled accounts and technical discrepancies within the billing system.
The utility said the billing intervention programme has been central in identifying historical underbilling, correcting tariff misalignments and ensuring customers are billed under the correct tariff categories.
“Tariff alignment has been particularly important in addressing longstanding discrepancies where customers were either incorrectly classified or billed on outdated structures,” the statement read.
Meter audits and field verification processes have also uncovered bypassed meters, inactive accounts consuming electricity and network inefficiencies contributing to technical losses.
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Crackdown on illegal reconnections
City Power acknowledged challenges, including limited access to certain properties and ongoing vandalism and meter tampering in some areas.
Chief operations officer and incoming acting CEO Charles Tlouane warned that the utility would intensify enforcement.
“Theft of electricity is criminality and must be treated as such. We must set a clear example by pursuing decisive enforcement action against those who undermine the system. Illegal reconnections, meter tampering and electricity theft will no longer be tolerated,” said Tlouane.
He added that City Power is working closely with law enforcement agencies to ensure arrests are effected against offenders.
Major accounts settle millions
The revenue drive has already translated into payments from large account holders.
The University of Johannesburg’s Soweto campus settled R33 million after engagement under the programme.
Caltex, located near City Power’s head office, has entered into an arrangement with the City of Johannesburg to settle an outstanding R5 million account.
The Sasol Pension Fund has acknowledged a R10 million bill, with payment expected within days.
Alexandra Mall was billed R52 million, with ongoing discussions focused on an agreed amount of R45 million.
City Power said these recoveries demonstrate improved customer engagement and accountability once billing discrepancies are clarified.
Beyond immediate gains, the utility said correcting systemic billing gaps and improving data integrity will strengthen recurring revenue, restore financial stability and enable reinvestment into network maintenance and infrastructure upgrades.
While surpassing R1 billion marks significant progress, City Power said it will accelerate interventions to reach the full R2.9 billion target by the end of the financial year.
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