Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero says paying for electricity is key to addressing frequent outages, illegal connections and the strain on the City’s overloaded power infrastructure.
By Mapaballo Borotho

The Executive Mayor of Johannesburg, Dada Morero, has called on Alexandra residents to pay for electricity as the City tackles frequent outages, illegal connections and an overloaded electricity grid.
The call comes as City Power continues to maintain electricity infrastructure across the City, leading to several power interruptions across Johannesburg.
Illegal connections and overloaded electricity infrastructure are among the factors that continue to burden Johannesburg residents, especially those who pay for electricity.
Residents in Alexandra raised concerns about the unreliable power supply at a City Power electricity imbizo, while officials stressed that payment is key to maintaining the network.
Phemelo unpacked the electricity issues facing Joburgers with City Power Acting CEO Charles Tlouane on Wednesday, 19 August 2026.
“The imbizos that we have been hosting are meant to reset our social impact with the customers that we serve in Johannesburg. The intention is to actually say, we are in the programme of going to our customers and conversing with them, rather than waiting for them to come and complain to us. We would rather go to them, listen and try to address their issues,” said Tlouane.
Tlouane says City Power has been getting mixed feedback when it comes to its imbizos, including both negative and positive feedback.
“Where we are doing well, we are being applauded and where we are not doing well, we are told that we need to ensure that we do better. This is the type of feedback that we actually appreciate so that we do not just stand thinking that we are serving our customers correctly,” he added.
Listen to the podcast for the full conversation.
Earlier this week, Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa slammed municipalities that continue to raise electricity tariffs to settle their debt with Eskom, saying they are burdening paying customers with problems caused by non-paying customers and illegal electricity connections.
Ramokgopa said his department is working towards a goal that does not only make electricity available to South Africans, but affordable too.
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