In Conversation With Thamsanqa Mathiso Chief Commercial officer at City Power
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City Power says it is beginning to see significant progress in reducing electricity losses across Johannesburg, following a series of interventions aimed at improving revenue collection, billing accuracy, infrastructure protection, and customer compliance.
According to the utility’s latest year-to-date performance figures, electricity losses dropped from approximately 40.53% in July 2025 to 25.95% by April 2026. The utility describes this as a major milestone in its efforts to improve financial sustainability and stabilise Johannesburg’s electricity network.
Electricity losses refer to the gap between the electricity purchased by City Power and the electricity that is successfully billed and paid for by customers. These losses are caused by both technical issues within the network and non-technical factors such as illegal connections, electricity theft, meter tampering, bypassed meters, inaccurate billing, and unaccounted consumption.
The improvements form part of City Power’s broader Revenue Enhancement Programme under its Gross Margin Turnaround Project. The initiative was launched after the entity identified longstanding issues affecting revenue performance, including billing discrepancies, incorrect tariff allocations, delayed meter readings, inactive customer accounts still consuming electricity, and widespread illegal usage.
According to the utility’s latest year-to-date performance figures, electricity losses dropped from approximately 40.53% in July 2025 to 25.95% by April 2026. The utility describes this as a major milestone in its efforts to improve financial sustainability and stabilise Johannesburg’s electricity network.
Electricity losses refer to the gap between the electricity purchased by City Power and the electricity that is successfully billed and paid for by customers. These losses are caused by both technical issues within the network and non-technical factors such as illegal connections, electricity theft, meter tampering, bypassed meters, inaccurate billing, and unaccounted consumption.
The improvements form part of City Power’s broader Revenue Enhancement Programme under its Gross Margin Turnaround Project. The initiative was launched after the entity identified longstanding issues affecting revenue performance, including billing discrepancies, incorrect tariff allocations, delayed meter readings, inactive customer accounts still consuming electricity, and widespread illegal usage.
