Eskom has begun disconnecting streetlights across parts of Johannesburg after City Power, the metropolitan electricity distributor, fell into arrears on small power user accounts that fund the city’s public lighting network. The disconnections — affecting close to 100 road stretches across Sandton, Bryanston, Fourways, Midrand, Cosmo City, and Soweto — were triggered by a formal disconnection notice served on City Power’s chief financial officer on 20 April 2026.
The notice, a copy of which was reviewed by Moneyweb, cited arrears of more than R4.1 million on City Power’s small power user (SPU) accounts at the time of issue. Eskom issued an ultimatum requiring full settlement by 4 May or face disconnection without further notice and potential termination of the electricity supply agreement. Interest was specified as continuing to accrue on the overdue balance.
As of 27 May, a source within Eskom’s Gauteng cluster confirmed that approximately R450,000 of the original balance remained outstanding, with settlement efforts ongoing but no firm timeline committed. A further set of invoices from Eskom is due imminently, adding to the exposure.
The streetlight disconnections are legally and financially distinct from the separate, higher-profile dispute over Johannesburg’s R5.3 billion bulk electricity debt to Eskom — a crisis that drew the intervention of Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa and led to a two-day summit between the mayor, City Power executives, Eskom chief executive Dan Marokane, and the minister. That meeting, concluded on 27 May, produced no new payment agreement beyond a reaffirmation of an existing settlement reached in June 2025, under which the arrear debt is to be repaid over four years. At the time of the original arrangement, the debt stood at R3.2 billion; it has since grown to R5.3 billion, indicating the city has continued to accumulate new arrears beyond its scheduled repayments.
The minister indicated that from 1 July 2026, a ring-fenced account will be established for City Power so that revenue collected from electricity sales flows directly to Eskom. This structural intervention — in effect a partial receivership of City Power’s electricity revenue — represents a significant escalation in Eskom’s oversight of the metro’s finances, even as Ramokgopa was careful to frame it as a technical partnership rather than a punitive measure.
Johannesburg’s electricity debt sits within a broader national crisis. Municipalities collectively owe Eskom in excess of R111 billion — a figure the power utility’s own financial statements identify as a material threat to its liquidity and going-concern status. Eskom has pursued a range of collection mechanisms, including the Distribution Agency Agreement model, under which it collects revenue directly on behalf of municipalities that cannot manage their billing effectively. The municipality’s debt, at R5.3 billion, represents roughly 4.8% of the total municipal arrears pile.
City of Johannesburg — Electricity Debt Snapshot (May 2026)
| Item | Amount / Status |
| Total Joburg electricity arrears to Eskom | R5.3 billion |
| Current account outstanding | R1.6 billion |
| Debt at June 2025 settlement | R3.2 billion |
| Eskom write-off granted (2025) | R830 million |
| SPU streetlight arrears (April 2026 notice) | R4.1 million |
| SPU arrears remaining (27 May 2026) | ~R450,000 |
| Total municipal debt to Eskom (national) | R111 billion+ |
| Eskom deadline for debt clearance | 8 July 2026 |
The political dimensions are considerable. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana wrote a stern letter to Mayor Dada Morero in recent weeks, warning that the city’s R10.3 billion wage agreement — concluded without adequate budget provisions — could result in the withholding of Johannesburg’s R8 billion equitable share instalment due in July. GCR Ratings revised the city’s outlook to rating watch negative in April, citing delays in finalising annual financial statements. The JSE suspended trading in the city’s debt bonds last year due to non-reporting. Moody’s has placed the city on credit downgrade watch.
Morero has pushed back against characterisations of insolvency, noting that waste collection, water supply, and electricity continue to function. He acknowledged, however, that January’s revenue collection rate dropped to 81% — down from 86% the prior year — before recovering to 90%. The city’s draft budget, tabled on 28 May, is premised on 85% revenue collection and has received a qualified endorsement from National Treasury as a funded budget.
The streetlights remain a visible, street-level indicator of a fiscal stress that has been building for years. For residents in the affected areas, the immediate concern is public safety. For bondholders, rating agencies, and the national government, the Johannesburg situation represents a test case for whether South Africa’s most economically significant municipality can service its obligations without extraordinary intervention.