Government moves to stabilise Joburg amid deepening electricity crisis

Electricity and Energy Minister, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, says government is preparing urgent interventions to rescue Johannesburg from a deepening electricity crisis, warning that cutting power to the country’s economic hub would have devastating consequences for businesses and households. 

This comes after Eskom threatened to interrupt or reduce electricity supply to parts of Johannesburg over City Power’s ballooning R5.25 billion debt.

But the minister says government is now stepping in with a new turnaround strategy aimed at stabilising City Power and preventing future crises, following discussions with city officials this week.

“We are invested in the resolution of this problem because this is too big to fail,” the minister said in an interview with the public broadcaster. “If we switch off Johannesburg now, we are undermining the ability of the South African economy to perform.”

Among the interventions is the deployment of Eskom engineers to work directly with City Power, after Ramokgopa pointed to a significant loss of technical skills within the utility.

He says City Power is losing nearly 30% of the electricity it purchases from Eskom through technical losses, well above the national average, but insists the issue can be resolved.

Ramokgopa also revealed that some businesses are allegedly being billed incorrectly under residential tariffs instead of industrial rates, while revenue collected is being diverted into the city’s general municipal pool rather than reinvested in electricity infrastructure.

“You are denying this entity that is laying the golden egg the ability to reinvest back into the asset,” he said.

The minister says government now wants a partnership model instead of treating the issue purely as a debt dispute between Eskom and the city, with a proposed ‘Distribution Agency Admin’ model already on the table.

The plan includes ring-fencing electricity revenue, rebuilding technical capacity inside City Power and intensifying efforts to recover payments from non-paying customers.

“We have to go after those who are not paying because it’s unfair that people who are paying bills through the roof. They are compromising; they could be spending this money elsewhere,” Ramokgopa said.

Meanwhile, Johannesburg Executive Mayor, Dada Morero, has sought to allay concerns over the crisis, saying the city is working with Ramokgopa to resolve the matter.

During his State of the City Address on Wednesday, Morero confirmed that City Power already has a turnaround plan focused on improving governance, financial sustainability and operational efficiency.

Ramokgopa and Morero say discussions between the two spheres of government have been constructive, with a new agreement expected before the end of next week.

Despite this, the city continues to face criticism from opposition parties over its handling of the looming power crisis.

#EskomMediaStatement

Eskom issues a notice of its intention to reduce, interrupt and/or terminate the supply of electricity to certain bulk supply points against the City of Johannesburg and City Power as arrear debt reaches R5.2 billion pic.twitter.com/8LB8goJhfQ

— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) May 19, 2026

Joburg owes Eskom R5.2 billion. Mayor Morero tells you “don’t panic.”

I say: Demand Better. #BelieveInJoburg #Zille4Mayor pic.twitter.com/OZOlKPHT8i

— Zille for Mayor (@HelenZille4Jozi) May 21, 2026