Picture: Roodepoort Record
City Power recorded R6.3 billion in revenue in the last financial quarter, a “significant increase” from the previous year.
This achievement, it said, was down to its turnaround strategy.
According to the utility’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tshifularo Mashava, the business went through self-introspection and had to put things into perspective by revising its priorities.
“We had to do most of the basics to get us to where we find ourselves today. These included
understanding who we work for – the residents, why we exist – to keep the lights on, what we are paid
for – to get the job done,” Mashava said.
Despite the revenue growth, residents have been vocal about their discontent with a R200 prepaid surcharge imposed on residents.
The charge was implemented on 1 July.
The utility has defended the move, saying it is necessary to sustain its business.
Electricity tariffs in Johannesburg were increased by 12.7% on 1 July. The surcharge tariff consists of a R70 service charge and R130 network capacity charge, exclusive of Value Added Tax (VAT).
City Power’s spokesperson, Isaac Mangena said residential prepaid customers, who currently don’t pay a basic charge, will be gradually introduced to this new charge in the coming years.
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The utility has also introduced load reductions in areas with high energy consumption, which has added to the woes of residents already struggling to make ends meet.
Despite the challenges, City Power said it made significant progress in service delivery.
According to Mangena, 1 256 streetlights were installed this quarter, exceeding its target of 700.
Additionally, 3495 households were connected to electricity supply, surpassing its target of 3200.
Moreover, City Power provided support to 331 SMMEs and created hundreds of EPWP jobs.
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The entity also restored 560 plants that were out of service and achieved a 99.10% success rate in responding to unplanned outages within industry standard timeframes.
The R6.3 billion revenue was an increase from R4,1 billion in the previous year. Mashava attributed the revenue growth to strategic changes made by the entity.
“We had to embark on the realignment of our business model to ensure that the organisational structure works towards where we want the business to go, and responds to the environmental changes in a fast-evolving energy sector,” she said.
Mangena said the entity also strengthened governance, improved internal controls, and capacitated functional areas across the business.
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Chairperson Bonolo Ramokhele commended the entity for its performance but acknowledged that there is still much work to be done.
“We are not there yet. But we are encouraged by the work put in by the team led by the CEO,” said Ramokhele.
It remains to be seen how the utility will address the concerns of its customers, who feel they are being unfairly burdened by the tariff increase.
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