Johannesburg - Midrand and Joburg CBD residents were the latest members of the community at the receiving end of City Power’s cut-off operations.
An operation, which took place on Wednesday, was conducted just a day after the power utility disconnected power to some of the businesses and residents of Naturena on Tuesday.
The City of Joburg said it is owed more than R300 million by businesses and housing complexes in Midrand for municipal services. City Power said these operations were part of their revenue-collection drive, with no-paying ratepayers being targeted, with the City claiming that it is owed more than R10 billion in unpaid electricity bills.
Midrand service delivery centre general manager Katlego Mogale-Makoni said they switched off power to companies on Wednesday that owed a combined R13m. The Midrand area owed more than R340m in total in electricity, Mogale-Makoni said.
One of the affected non-payers is the 100-unit Leopard Rock estate, whose body corporate owes the City of Joburg R5.1m in unpaid electricity bills.
Officials subsequently disconnected the power supply to the estate, which uses a bulk meter system. Reports indicate that more than 100 families at the estate pay their monthly electricity bill to the Leopard Rock Body Corporate, which is then expected to pay over the money to the City of Joburg.
Their first stop was at the Vaal Value Warehouse offices in Erand Gardens Extension 4, which owes R1.5m for electricity. The team then moved to the New Model Private College, where electricity was also disconnected.
“We have done our due diligence because we verify the accounts with the City, and we are able to know the accounts that have legal issues and that have queries. The ones we are focusing on today (Wednesday) have no queries or legal issues; they are purely customers that are not paying,” Mogale-Makoni said.
However, the residents of Naturena vowed to reconnect themselves to the grid after a tense stand-off with City Power officials, who were accompanied by Joburg Water, the SAPS and JMPD.
The Star