S'Africa: Joburg Turns to Solar Power to Fight R4.5 Billion in Electricity Losses

Johannesburg's power utility, City Power, is installing solar microgrids in five informal settlements, to give residents legal electricity and cut the city's huge losses from illegal connections.

A microgrid is a small, independent power system that can supply electricity to an area without relying on the main national grid. City Power, which is wholly owned by the Johannesburg municipality, is spending R517.8 million on the project.

Isaac Mangena, City Power's general manager for public relations and communication, said Johannesburg has more than 300 informal settlements, and illegal connections, electricity theft, meter tampering and unmetered consumption cost the utility heavily.

Theft and unpaid electricity cost billions

Mangena said City Power's non-technical losses, meaning electricity used but not properly paid for, come to about R4.5 billion. He said giving households legal connections and meters could cut illegal connections and improve safety, reliability and revenue collection.

"Providing households with legal electricity connections and meters could help reduce illegal connections and improve safety, reliability and revenue collection," Mangena said.

He explained that the microgrids are not meant to replace the normal electricity grid. City Power picks this technology only where the standard grid cannot easily reach an area, because of limited bulk infrastructure, land availability, safety issues or technical difficulty.

The programme now covers Amarasta and Vukani in Alexandra, Shalazile in Denver, The View in Booysens, and Vlakfontein in southern Johannesburg. Amarasta and Shalazile are finished and running. Vlakfontein and Vukani are still under construction, while The View is partly complete.

How the programme started and where it is headed

Amarasta in Alexandra was the first site, built during the 2023/4 financial year after City Power found that normal grid electrification was not possible there right away. Lessons from Amarasta shaped the projects that came after it.

Shalazile in Denver was set up after the 2023 Usindiso Building fire in Johannesburg, which killed 77 people and displaced hundreds of residents. Those displaced were moved to the Shalazile site, which then got its own solar microgrid.

Mangena said households on the solar microgrids still pay electricity tariffs like other customers. Vulnerable and low-income households that qualify can get help through the city's Expanded Social Package, which supports municipal services, and the Free Basic Electricity programme, which gives a basic amount of electricity free to those who qualify.

The programme began with money from the Gauteng government's Energy Emergency Response Plan. After the Amarasta pilot, the City of Johannesburg's Human Settlements Department joined in, to help identify and prioritise which settlements needed electricity most.

"City Power provided technical support, planning and implementation, while Human Settlements drove the timelines," Mangena said.

The city had originally planned to extend the programme to 21 informal settlements during the 2024/5 and 2025/6 financial years.