City Power under fire for allegedly charging reconnection fees for customers who buy electricity in advance

The Money Show interviews Councillor Nicole van Dyk, DA Shadow MMC for Water, Power and Environment.

Johannesburg residents are claiming that City Power will cut off supply and impose a R30 000 fee if customers pre-purchase electricity units in large amounts.

This came to light a couple of weeks ago through posts on various neighbourhood Whatsapp and Facebook groups, says Councillor Nicole van Dyk, DA Shadow MMC for Water, Power and Environment.

In a statement issued on Monday, City Power referenced 'misinformation' circulated by councillors regarding the management of customers' solar installations and pre-paid meters.

"That notice makes a number of false claims including that City Power will not install meters for customers who already have a solar system."

The state-owned power utility said this claim, along with the alleged reconnection fee for customers purchase power in large amounts, is untrue.

Van Dyk says the City Power statement is vague, and that there is not a lot of infomration available on its website either.

The only thing that comes to mind, she adds, is the fact that the City of Johannesburg has openly stated that it is cash-strapped.

"Earlier this year City Power wanted to implement a R530 service fee on prepaid meters - this was brought to the committee and was thankfully brought down to R230 but, again, what was missing also then was a process of proper public participation."

"Here you're penalising residents for paying the City upfront when it's already struggling to collect money from post-paid residents; it's constantly just punitive."

Nicole van Dyk, DA Shadow MMC for Water, Power and Environment - Joburg

Van Dyk says they're getting their legal team to look into this issue and give them a formal assessment.

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