Now that electricity has been restored to parts of Northcliff, Roosevelt Park, Blackheath, Fairland and surrounding areas, residents who were affected have decided to rally together to submit a collective claim to the City of Johannesburg.
This follows another power outage in the area which triggered a peaceful protest on 8 January.
A Northcliff resident, Jacci Babich, said they want compensation for the food they had to throw away due to the power outage. “Who is supposed to pay for the food that lost its value during electricity disruptions?” she asked. According to Babich, the collective claim would be sent to the City of Johannesburg with all the costs.
Ward 88 councillor Nicholas Lorimer backed the idea of a collective claim and said it was a good idea. However, he stated that he is not responsible for collecting those claims. “The claim form doesn’t go to me, it goes to City Power,” he said, adding that some residents had contacted him inquiring about the procedure.
“I have no say on claim forms. People should visit the City Power website to find the forms,” Lorimer said.
City Power spokesperson Hloni Motloung explained the proper channels to lodge a claim. “A Claim form is available on the Internet, under customers. Mpho Maisha can also be contacted on 011 490 7648 for a copy,” he said.
He further explained that completed claim forms should be submitted to mmaisha@citypower.co.za or legalclaims@citypower.co.za and said follow-ups are to be made with Maisha via email or telephonically.
