Eskom has formally threatened to reduce or cut electricity supply to key parts of Johannesburg over City Power’s staggering R5.2 billion arrears, just as the City launches a visible crackdown on big defaulters in the inner city.
At the break of dawn on Tuesday 19 May 2026, Deputy Executive Mayor Cllr Loyiso Masuku joined Executive Mayor Cllr Dada Morero and City Manager Dr Floyd Brink for a high-impact operation targeting Marble Towers in Johannesburg’s Noord Precinct.
The building owes the City approximately R14 million in water and electricity arrears. With boots on the ground, the top leadership team is sending a strong message: the days of ignoring utility bills while the rest of the city suffers are coming to an end.
The City urges all residents and businesses to settle their accounts or visit City Finance offices to make arrangements.
Just hours earlier, Eskom dropped a bombshell. The power utility issued a formal notice of its intention to reduce, interrupt, or terminate electricity supply to several bulk supply points serving the City of Johannesburg and City Power.
The reason? An unpaid balance that has ballooned to R5.255 billion in arrears, with another R1.58 billion due on the current account by 5 June 2026.
The Areas at Risk
Eskom’s notice specifically names four critical bulk supply points: Fordsburg (feeding the Johannesburg CBD, Auckland Park and Mayfair), Beyers (Fairlands and Cresta), Crowthorne, and Allandale (Midrand). If the threat is carried out, parts of Johannesburg’s economic core could face power reductions as early as July.
Why This Matters to Ordinary Residents
For millions of Johannesburg residents, this is not just another political standoff. It is about whether their lights will stay on, whether water will continue flowing from taps, and whether small businesses will survive another round of instability.
A small business owner in the CBD told me: “We pay our bills every month. Why must we suffer because the City fails to pay Eskom? This is not fair.”
The Human and Economic Cost
Hospitals, data centres, shopping malls, traffic systems, and water treatment plants in these areas rely on stable supply. Any prolonged reduction would trigger chaos — spoiled food in fridges, halted surgeries, non-functional lifts in high-rises, and massive financial losses.
City’s Response and the Marble Towers Blitz
The City of Johannesburg is now fighting back on two fronts. While negotiating with Eskom, it is intensifying its own revenue collection drive. The early-morning operation at Marble Towers is the latest example of this aggressive approach.
The Road Ahead
Eskom has begun the legal consultation process. The City now has time to respond, negotiate, or challenge the move. Past experience shows these disputes often end in last-minute settlements — but the debt keeps growing.
For Johannesburg to break this cycle, it needs structural reform in billing, collection systems, and real political will.
The coming weeks will be decisive. Johannesburg residents and businesses are watching closely. Will the City and Eskom find a workable solution before the lights start going out again?
