City Power
In a strong stand against growing hostility towards its workers, Johannesburg’s City Power has called on residents to stop threatening and harassing its technicians during electricity disconnection drives. The plea comes after a disturbing video surfaced online, showing a City Power electrician being confronted and apparently threatened by upset community members. The utility has urged law enforcement to step in and investigate, highlighting that such incidents put staff at risk and slow down service delivery. This issue shines a light on the tough balance between enforcing payment rules and keeping workers safe in a city where power cuts and billing disputes often spark tension.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena stressed that these attacks must end, as they do nothing to fix deeper problems like alleged corruption. With Johannesburg facing ongoing electricity challenges, including load-shedding and illegal connections, the utility says protecting its teams is key to keeping the lights on for everyone.
The Viral Video Incident: A Tense Confrontation in Turffontein
The trouble started with a video that quickly spread on social media, capturing a heated clash in Turffontein, Johannesburg. In the clip, a group of locals accuse City Power technicians of asking for bribes during a cut-off operation. The electrician is seen being surrounded and verbally challenged by angry residents, who seem to threaten further action. While no physical violence is shown, the atmosphere is tense, with shouts and demands that the workers leave.
City Power has described the behaviour as unacceptable and close to outright intimidation. This is not an isolated case— the utility reports that many of its employees have faced similar run-ins while doing their jobs. These operations often target areas with high non-payment rates or illegal connections, which drain the system and lead to broader outages. In Turffontein, like many suburbs, residents have raised complaints about billing errors and service issues, but City Power insists its teams are just following the rules.
Spokesperson’s Firm Response: Protecting Workers and Service Delivery
Isaac Mangena did not hold back in his statement, calling out the actions in the video. “The behaviour displayed in the video is unacceptable and borders on intimidation. Publicly confronting, harassing, lying and humiliating technicians who are performing lawful duties does not help to root out corruption instead, it places innocent workers at significant risk and undermines service delivery,” Mangena said.
He urged communities to report any wrongdoing through proper channels, like the utility’s fraud hotline, rather than taking matters into their own hands. City Power has made it clear that while it takes corruption claims seriously, endangering staff only makes things worse for everyone. The company has asked police to look into this specific incident and provide better protection for its teams during future operations.
This call echoes broader concerns in Johannesburg, where service providers often face pushback in high-density areas. Mangena’s words remind residents that technicians are just doing their jobs, and threats could lead to delays in fixing real problems like faulty infrastructure or unplanned outages.
Pattern of Threats: Similar Incidents Across Johannesburg
This is not the first time City Power workers have been in the line of fire. In recent months, there have been several reports of attacks and threats during cut-off drives. For example, in September 2025, the utility warned of area-wide blackouts in Eldorado Park after technicians were threatened while removing illegal connections. Residents there blocked roads and confronted workers, leading City Power to pull out for safety reasons.
Earlier, in July 2025, a similar standoff in Tshepisong, west of Johannesburg, saw protests erupt after cut-offs for illegal hook-ups. Technicians were chased away, and the area went dark for days, sparking street demonstrations. In October 2025, two security officers guarding an Alexandra substation were attacked during an armed break-in, raising alarms about the dangers faced by utility staff.
Other cases include an August 2025 incident in Orlando, Soweto, where a streetlight repair crew had to flee after being targeted. City Power has linked these events to frustrations over power issues, but insists that violence only worsens the situation. The utility has stepped up calls for community partnerships to tackle root causes like non-payment, which totals billions in unpaid bills city-wide.
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