Joburg has a R44bn City Power problem
Funds paid by residents for electricity are swept into a common pool for use elsewhere, which helps explain the surge in outages.
A recent Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) report highlights a R44.25 billion infrastructure backlog facing City Power, Johannesburg's electricity provider. The provider faces a R4.3 billion deficit in 2025, with expenditure surpassing revenue. In just nine months, there were 2.1 million forced power interruptions, with an average restoration time of 11 hours.
Illegal connections, overloading, theft, and vandalism are placing additional strain on maintenance teams. City Power, responsible for 19,000km of aging cables, reported 60% of power outages resulted from deteriorating networks. The city's revenue from electricity sales is not ring-fenced, leading to funds being used to cover shortfalls elsewhere in the city budget, despite a commitment to such an arrangement in November 2025.
Some mayoral candidates propose merging the 13 entities, but experts warn this could worsen the situation. With debt to Eskom reaching R19.1 billion, the city's financial predicament appears dire. Simple fixes seem elusive due to issues like leadership instability, high staff turnover, and unresolved billing disputes. CDE recommends appointing capable leaders, securing predictable revenue for City Power, and streamlining billing and collections for effective service delivery.
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