COLUMN: How City Power is lighting the way to frustration in Johannesburg

IF CITY Power's slogan is "City Power lights the way in Joburg," then it seems they've taken it the wrong way, plunging numerous suburbs into darkness daily.

Logging onto social media is like embarking on a virtual tour of a power outage museum, showcasing the residue of ailing infrastructure, poor maintenance, and what one can only conclude to be sheer incompetence.

After a blissful week in Cape Town, where the lights remained steadfastly on, and the water flowed like liquid gold, returning to Joburg was akin to stepping back into the Dark Ages. Upon arrival, I was greeted not with the warm glow of home but with a dry tap and a darkened house. My first 72 hours back in Joburg were a rollercoaster of emotions, with power available for a measly 25 hours and water flowing for a mere 12.

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Sure, City Power has undergone a stunning website redesign, complete with chic and modern design assets. But alas, beauty is only skin-deep, and these aesthetic upgrades offer as much value to consumers as a chocolate teapot.

And don't get me started on logging faults - sure, you can report them, but closure without explanation seems to be City Power's favourite pastime.

What's truly illuminating, though, is the stark discrepancy in communication between affluent and disadvantaged suburbs. While the leafy enclaves receive updates, those in less privileged areas are left groping in the dark, both literally and figuratively. I know because I've spent many hours analysing the trends.

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Ah, the blame game - City Power is pointing fingers at load shedding for haemorrhaging millions a day. It's a tale as old as time, but the numbers are staggering, nonetheless. With a daily loss of R3,6 million attributed to a litany of issues - from mini substations going up in smoke to cables vanishing faster than a magician's assistant - it's no wonder City Power is feeling the financial strain.

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The CEO's laundry list of woes reads like a script for a disaster movie, with vandalism and equipment failure playing the villainous leads. But amid the chaos, one can't help but wonder: where's the accountability?

Enter the baffling case of the low-oil transformer - a tale of neglect in the heart of modern technology. With critical components at risk, one might expect swift detection and resolution. Yet, City Power's oversight led to over 24 hours of darkness for residents of Mayfair, Vrededorp and surrounds, as it took an astonishing 20 hours to procure a single barrel of oil. In a world where time is of the essence, this sluggish response paints a picture of bureaucratic inefficiency rather than a utility service committed to its customers.

City Power's constant pleas for reduced consumption are like a broken record, but how are we to reduce consumption when we're spending our days in the office only to return home to a power outage?

In conclusion, if City Power is indeed lighting the way in Joburg, it's a path fraught with frustration, darkness, and a notable absence of customer care. So, here's to hoping they invest less in sleek websites and more in actually keeping the lights on.

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