Only 200 of 12,000 Tshepisong households paying for electricity: City Power

The electricity crisis in Tshepisong, Soweto, has taken on a new dimension with City Power revealing that only about 200 out of nearly 12,000 households in the area are paying for electricity.

The shocking statistic came to light during a community imbizo on Thursday at Abundant Faith Christian Centre, where frustrated residents voiced their grievances over persistent power outages, neglected infrastructure and slow responses to faults.

Residents like Aaron Modise shared heartbreaking stories of living without power for months, despite paying their electricity bills.

“What hurts me is that I pay my electricity bills,” Modise lamented, describing how the lack of electricity had made life unbearable, especially during winter.

Another resident, Agnes Ndima, accused City Power of undermining residents and said the community had become increasingly frustrated with the way electricity supply issues were being handled.

She said she buys electricity even when she cannot afford to; however, she is unhappy with comments made by City Power when they have to resolve electricity issues.

“City Power would say only 3% of households here buy electricity. Are the 3% of us buying electricity not important to get electricity issues resolved?” she asked.

City Power acting CEO Charles Tlouane addressed the difficult realities facing the utility, stating, “City Power spends R200m monthly to buy electricity for Tshepisong. We buy from Eskom. But only about 200 households are paying for electricity.”

Tlouane also raised concerns about vandalism and illegal connections, which further strain the system and contribute to widespread outages.

Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero acknowledged the frustration and promised a six-month phased process to restore and normalise electricity supply, urging residents to co-operate with City Power teams. He expressed the hope that improved infrastructure and proper metering would encourage more residents to pay.

“Residents have indicated that they are willing to pay, but want reliable infrastructure and proper meters to manage their use,” Morero told TimesLIVE.

“It’s part of the project, normalisation and all that. We will see an increase in payments that will be coming from this work,” he said.

Morero also warned about the consequences of illegal electricity connections and collections.

At the end of the community engagement, City Power announced to residents that electricity to the area had been restored.