City Power Aims to Recover R1.6 Billion from Hursthill Service Delivery Centre
Johannesburg – To recover over R1.5 billion, City Power has disconnected electricity services to customers with unpaid bills, including one case with arrears exceeding two million rand, as part of the Hursthill Service Delivery Centre (SDC) initiative.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena commented on the disconnections on Saturday, 5 July 2025, stating: “A notable case involved a residential property on Grange Street in Hursthill.”
According to Mangena, this property, functioning as both a spaza shop and a rental unit, “was disconnected due to arrears surpassing R2 million, following numerous instances of obstructing meter audits.”
He remarked that the customer’s account was also lacking payments to other municipal entities, resulting in a level 2 disconnection.
Furthermore, two additional disconnections occurred in the same suburb on St. Ermins and Threadneedle streets, with combined debts reaching nearly R700,000.
“The customer on St. Ermins had been found to have bypassed the electricity meter, while the Threadneedle property had previously obstructed City Power technicians from performing meter audits,” explained Mangena.
“Both cases were subjected to Level 3 disconnections in alignment with our enforcement policies.”
“City Power stresses that tampering with meters is illegal and dangerous, potentially leading to prosecution, disconnection, and confiscation of electrical equipment.”
In Auckland Park, a hijacked property accumulated over R1.7 million in debt and had no lawful municipal connection, while another account on Ditton Road was in arrears for nearly R850,000.
Mangena emphasized that the enhanced revenue collection efforts aim to recover funds and restore the utility’s capability to provide reliable and quality services to its customers.
The Hursthill SDC serves 46,141 customers across 11 wards, with 19,880 on postpaid plans and 26,033 using prepaid services.
It also accommodates 228 Large Power Users (LPUs).
Mangena stated that City Power “successfully executed” the targeted revenue collection operation in Hursthill, Auckland Park, and Northcliff on Friday, 4 July 2025.
“This operation signifies the start of a weekly campaign to recover R1.6 billion in unpaid electricity bills from defaulting residential and business customers associated with the Hursthill Service Delivery Centre (SDC),” he noted.
Malcolm de Lange, General Manager at Hursthill SDC, commented on the campaign: “This renewed initiative not only centers on outstanding debts but also enhances our ability to reinvest in critical infrastructure upgrades and improve service reliability for all customers in our supply areas.”
“We will continue our pursuit of recovering R1.6 billion in electricity debt, sending a clear warning to customers facing disconnection.”
De Lange urged: “We encourage our residential and business customers to act responsibly, pay for the services they consume, and visit the SDCs to update their accounts and arrange payments.”