A Six-Month Window: City Power Gives Non-Paying Customers More Time to Convert Meters

In a significant shift, City Power has granted a reprieve to thousands of Johannesburg households using non-vending prepaid meters, extending the deadline to convert to a postpaid billing system by six months. The new cutoff is now 30 June 2026.

The extension targets a specific problem: customers who are not purchasing electricity, often due to meter tampering, bypassing, or illegal connections. By moving them to a postpaid system where consumption is measured and billed monthly, the utility aims to claw back substantial lost revenue and improve billing accuracy across its network.

Why the Extension?

Spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the extra time is to help affected customers “regularise their electricity supply, cooperate with ongoing meter audits, and engage with City Power to resolve billing and vending problems.” This forms part of a broader strategy to stabilise the billing system City Power inherited and to close historical revenue gaps.

The concession suggests the scale of the challenge is larger than anticipated, requiring more time for audits and customer engagement to avoid a chaotic transition.

Solar Users Not Exempt

Notably, the policy also impacts households with solar PV installations. Even these customers will transition to postpaid accounts. Mangena explained this is necessary for “accurate accounting of electricity imports and exports” and to align solar users with the correct billing framework. This move indicates City Power’s intent to thoroughly monitor all grid interactions as embedded generation grows.

What Customers Can Expect

Once converted, customers will receive a monthly electricity bill as part of their consolidated City of Johannesburg municipal statement. This will include standard service and network charges. Critically, “reconciled consumption may be back-charged” where applicable, meaning customers could face bills for past unmetered usage.

With the deadline extended, City Power plans to intensify citywide meter audits to identify non-compliant setups. The message to residents is clear: use this six-month window to regularise your connection and engage with the utility. After June 2026, the leniency ends, and the full force of municipal bylaws and back-billing will likely follow. For City Power, it’s a final push to turn non-paying customers into accurately billed ones.

{Source: Citizen}

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