City Power’s headache over its electricity losses is subsiding after interventions implemented across technical, commercial and customer environments began to yield measurable outcomes.
City Power Johannesburg is a state-owned power utility, wholly owned by the City of Johannesburg. Its responsibilities include buying electricity from power producers and supplying it to the public, and installing and maintaining the electrical infrastructure in the City of Johannesburg.
The power utility has had its hands full dealing with illegal connections, meter tampering, electricity theft, bypassed meters, unbilled consumption and historical billing discrepancies.
Winning the battle
However, the company’s latest annual performance figures indicate that electricity losses have reduced from approximately 40.53% in July 2025 to 25.95% by April 2026, demonstrating that interventions implemented across technical, commercial and customer environments are beginning to yield measurable outcomes.
“City Power is beginning to see meaningful progress in reducing electricity losses as several interventions implemented across the organisation continue to strengthen revenue management, improve operational efficiency and support long-term network sustainability,” the company said in statement released on Sunday.
Gross Margin Turnaround Project
Electricity losses represent the difference between electricity purchased by City Power and electricity that is ultimately sold, billed and paid for by customers.
“This improvement reflects the growing impact of City Power’s Revenue Enhancement Programme, which forms part of the broader Gross Margin Turnaround Project launched to improve financial sustainability, reduce losses and strengthen revenue generation,” the power utility said.
- City Power Johannesburg has successfully reduced electricity losses from 40.53% in July 2025 to 25.95% by April 2026.
- Loss reductions result from interventions across technical, commercial, and customer sectors addressing issues like illegal connections, meter tampering, and unbilled consumption.
- The utility's Revenue Enhancement Programme, part of the broader Gross Margin Turnaround Project, is driving improvements in financial sustainability and revenue management.
- City Power is enhancing operational efficiency and strengthening long-term network sustainability through these initiatives.
- The progress signals meaningful strides in tackling historical billing discrepancies and supporting better electricity supply management for Johannesburg.
