Johannesburg's City Power is in deep trouble, with deteriorating infrastructure, precarious finances, and long periods without permanent leadership. The utility has 122 vacant professionally qualified posts and operates with an acting CEO. City Power has failed to generate enough revenue to cover costs for several years, with rising Eskom prices, electricity theft, and customers moving to alternatives like rooftop solar adding pressure. By 2025, it ran a deficit of R4.3-billion.
Between July 2025 and March 2026, City Power reported 2.1 million forced interruptions, taking 11 hours on average to restore, with customers without electricity for 20.6 hours on average. In some cases, they went without for weeks. Sixty percent of outages were caused by deteriorating and outdated networks, with City Power's infrastructure backlog at R44.25-billion. The Centre for Development and Enterprise has outlined a 100-day turnaround plan for incoming leadership to restore governance, fix finances, and keep the lights on.
The plan's logic is simple: "stabilise leadership, secure the cash, stop the bleeding, keep the lights on." It involves appointing an empowered, time-bound crisis executive with a small war room, reporting directly to the mayor. This interim leader will have strong electricity distribution and turnaround experience to stabilise City Power while recruiting a permanent CEO. The crisis executive should not become a substitute for permanent management.
In the first month, the mayor should publish job descriptions and appointment criteria for the CEO and CFO, covering qualifications, utility experience, and turnaround capability. Recruitment should be launched against these criteria, and the board reconstituted using clear, published criteria. If Eskom debt is out of control, negotiate an enforcement standstill in exchange for full, on-time payment of the current account from day one.
The second month focuses on stopping the bleeding. A staged smart-prepayment programme will be launched in the five highest-loss areas, with revenue-protection teams identifying illegal connections and meter tampering. Town-hall meetings will be held in the three most-affected service delivery centres to present a clear plan and make an arrears normalisation offer. A three-year financial recovery plan will be commissioned, and a debt-resolution menu developed with the National Treasury.
The final stretch involves locking in progress and showing measurable results. A permanent CEO and CFO will be appointed, and the first measurable reduction in losses and improvement in collection in target zones will be shown. Progress will be reported against promises made, and a quarterly progress report will be published. A scorecard of around 12 measurable indicators will track progress, including cash collection and payment of the Eskom current account.
The Centre for Development and Enterprise's plan aims to restore governance, fix finances, and keep the lights on at City Power. The plan requires credible professional appointments, clear deadlines, and measurable commitments, followed by regular public reporting on progress. Residents need to know what the City has promised, who is responsible for delivering it, and whether deadlines have been met.
Key points
- City Power's collapse threatens Johannesburg's future, with a 100-day turnaround plan proposed.
- The plan involves appointing a crisis executive and making credible professional appointments.
- Measurable indicators will track progress, including cash collection and payment of the Eskom current account.
