City Power Targets Non-Paying Customers in Auckland Park as Hospital Pays R17 Million Debt

• A public hospital in Auckland Park, Johannesburg, has cleared its R17 million electricity debt with City Power
• The power utility said the payment is part of its ongoing campaign to recover outstanding debts owed to City Power
• The Auckland Park hospital had previously agreed to a payment plan with City Power to prevent disconnection

On Friday, 17 October 2025, the Johannesburg power utility, City Power, together with the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD), focused its operations on non-paying customers in Auckland Park, Croesus, and Industria.

City Power targets non-paying customers

A public hospital in Auckland Park, Johannesburg, has cleared its R17 million electricity debt with City Power. The utility confirmed that the payment forms part of a wider effort to recover more than R1.6 billion owed to its Hursthill substation. Since July 2025, City Power has been disconnecting non-paying commercial customers as part of this campaign.

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The Auckland Park hospital, which had previously arranged a payment plan to avoid disconnection, has now fully settled its outstanding electricity debt. City Power stated that the total arrears in the area stood at R36 million, but following the hospital’s payment, the balance has dropped to R19 million. The utility is urging all customers to settle their accounts promptly to avoid disconnection.

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City Power has strongly rejected the allegation that the utility is making moves to obstruct the ongoing investigation by the Hawks. The investigation by the Hawks stems from the City Power contracts believed to be irregular. The utility had a successful court challenge against the Hawks. Earlier this week, City Power approached the Gauteng High Court to challenge the legality of a recent search and seizure operation at its headquarters.

City Power's customers are working to meet the deadline to upgrade their meter boxes. According to City Power, 99% of its customers have upgraded their vendor prepaid meters to meet Eskom's imposed deadline. Eskom said South Africans have until 24 November 2024 to ensure that their meter boxes are upgraded. Failure to meet the deadline would mean users could not load electricity.

City Power has officially suspended services in Alexandra, but residents of the area are not happy with the decision. The power utility announced that it would be suspending services effective immediately following an attack on one of its technicians. The technician was assaulted inside the Alexandra Service Delivery Centre. City Power has often had issues in Alexandra, and on 5 November 2024, they had to subdue a Malawian national who resisted arrest after he was caught tampering with meters.

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City Power fires 5 employees

Briefly News also reported that the Johannesburg City Power said it fired five employees for their role in connecting electricity illegally in parts of Johannesburg.

It launched an internal investigation into illegal electricity and discovered that the utility lost more than R3 billion to illegal connections. City Power also disconnected electricity in the inner city, and South Africans laughed at City Power's discovery.

Source: Briefly News