A 100-day plan to keep Joburg’s lights on
City Power’s collapse threatens Johannesburg’s future. The Centre for Development and Enterprise outlines a 100-day turnaround plan for incoming leadership to restore governance, fix finances and keep the lights on.
Johannesburg's power utility, City Power, is facing severe challenges that threaten the city's future. City Power's infrastructure is deteriorating, finances are precarious, and it has been without permanent leadership for long periods. The utility has failed to generate enough revenue to cover its costs and was running a deficit of R4.3-billion by 2025.
In July 2025-March 2026, City Power reported 2.1 million forced interruptions, with 60% caused by deteriorating networks and a backlog of R44.25-billion in infrastructure work.
City Power's current arrangement is not ideal, and while collapsing parts into municipal administration may seem appealing, it would create more challenges than benefits. The immediate task is to restore reliable service delivery. Four key priorities must be addressed: fixing leadership, implementing ring-fencing, improving revenue collection, and bringing in the private sector.
A crisis executive should be appointed in the first month, responsible for stabilizing City Power while a rigorous process is launched to recruit a permanent CEO. The second month should focus on stopping the bleeding, launching a smart-prepayment program, opening grand bargain town-hall meetings, and commissioning a three-year financial recovery plan.
Written by urgent.news from Daily Maverick's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
