JOHANNESBURG, Gauteng — Residents and businesses in Johannesburg may experience planned power interruptions as City Power embarks on a critical maintenance drive to tackle the city’s ageing electricity network. According to Charles Tlouane, Acting CEO of City Power, this proactive infrastructure servicing is specifically designed to strengthen the grid and significantly reduce the risk of unexpected blackouts across the municipality.
In a recent address regarding the utility’s operational strategy, Tlouane emphasized a major shift toward proactive community and business relations. Rather than waiting for complaints, City Power is actively reaching out to its consumers.
“We are planning to have more engagements with our customers in a sense that we understand more of their frustrations. We go to them. We don’t want them to come to us only,” Tlouane stated.
To facilitate this, the utility has launched a “word by word” program. This initiative involves direct visits to communities and commercial entities to listen to their specific challenges. Tlouane noted that while some businesses primarily require increased grid capacity, others need consistent stability. In response, City Power is providing these stakeholders with clear, transparent plans detailing the exact steps the utility is taking to resolve their issues.
This customer-centric approach is being backed by comprehensive internal collaboration. Tlouane confirmed that City Power is roping in all relevant divisions to support the maintenance drive, including the public lighting department and day-to-day maintenance teams, ensuring a unified and efficient response to infrastructure challenges.
Beyond immediate grid repairs, a major strategic focus for City Power is to fast-track integration and operational issues regarding Independent Power Producers (IPPs). Tlouane highlighted that accelerating this process is a financial and operational imperative, as it will directly reduce the utility’s bulk electricity purchases from Eskom. Currently, buying bulk power from the national utility remains one of City Power’s most significant expenditures, and diversifying the energy mix is viewed as a vital step toward long-term sustainability and cost management.
As the maintenance schedule rolls out, City Power urges residents to stay informed about localized planned interruptions, framing the short-term disruptions as a necessary investment in a more reliable and resilient Johannesburg electricity network.
