Johannesburg
1Min
South Africa
Nov 12, 2025
City Power will convert over 2,300 prepaid customers who bypass legal electricity purchases to postpaid from November 12, aiming to curb revenue losses, back-charge unpaid bills, and enforce accountability. Audits will continue, with disconnections or blacklisting for non-compliance, ensuring fairness for all users.
City Power will start converting thousands of prepaid customers who have not been buying electricity tokens through legal channels to postpaid billing from November 12, in a bid to clamp down on illegal connections and recover millions in lost revenue.
The Johannesburg power utility said more than 2,300 residential customers identified as “non-vending” would be affected by the conversion process, which is expected to run until December 31.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the move was part of efforts to plug financial leaks, improve billing accuracy and hold residents accountable for the electricity they consume.
“We are doing this to enable us to recover money owed in accordance with the bylaws. The bylaws say we should disconnect illegally connected electricity and also backdate charges to not beyond 36 months. Currently on prepaid, City Power is not able to backdate, which allows customers to get away with bypassing and also non-payment. Once implemented, this will allow credit recovery measures to take effect, which may include blacklisting after all necessary processes have been exhausted,” he said.
Once the change takes effect, customers will receive monthly bills through the City of Johannesburg’s municipal system. These will include a service and network capacity charge of about R900, and payment will be due according to standard postpaid billing terms.
City Power said it would also back-charge customers based on their electricity consumption since their last recorded legal purchase. Failure to pay could lead to disconnection or blacklisting once all recovery processes are completed.
In parallel, City Power teams will continue conducting stand-by-stand meter audits across the city to identify other non-vending users and tampered meters. Customers who deny technicians access to their properties risk disconnection and penalties.
Mangena warned that the utility was aware of potential security threats during the audits, as criminals could impersonate City Power staff.
Residents have been urged to verify anyone claiming to represent City Power by contacting the Security Risk Management Control Room.
Mangena said all City Power employees and contractors are required to carry official ID cards showing their photo, badge number, expiry date and a firefly hologram.
He said the transition is about fairness and accountability.
“This is about ensuring everyone pays their fair share for the electricity they use,” he said.
