Consulate of Nigeria in Gauteng.
Google© Streetview, Google Maps, taken 2022, access
- The Nigerian consulate in Johannesburg is one of the entities whose power supply was cut off for non-payment.
- They allegedly owe R406 000 and refused to allow City Power officials in.
- A church that was disconnected by a huge bill of R740,000 has so far managed to pay R200,000.
City Power has disconnected electricity at the Nigerian consulate in Johannesburg after it failed to pay a bill for R406,000.
The second day of City Power’s three-day revenue-raising effort in Region E kicked off with a visit to smaller businesses in and around Alexandra, Wynberg and Kew.
The bulk electricity provider is owed R4bn in unpaid bills, and delinquent companies in Region E owe R363m.
City Power spokesman Isaac Mangena said he expected to recover R36 million of this debt in three days.
On Tuesday, the entity, along with the metro police, visited big businesses in the area, which Mangena said were the “low-hanging fruit.”
CLOCK | A few power outages and a few tantrums when businesses get a ‘surprise’ visit from City Power
He said they were companies that could afford to pay his huge bills, but chose not to.
On Wednesday, City Power officials said many of the businesses visited Tuesday paid up after being shut off.
One such business was a church that owed R740,000.
The church was able to pay more than 200,000 rand of its bill after its service was cut off on Tuesday.
Wednesday began with a visit to the Nigerian consulate in Illovo. However, it closed its doors and refused City Power entry to the property.
READ | City Power shuts off lights to delinquent businesses in three-day bombing
When it became clear that no official was going to meet with City Power, the entity cut the power to the consulate.
From there, the officials went to the Catalyst Hotel, which they said owed R1.1 million.
General Manager Robert Chifunyise said they were aware of the billing issue and had been trying to contact the City.
“As a customer, it’s frustrating that we can’t resolve this issue. It’s so hard to consult with the City, but so easy for them to cut us off.” [off].
“We’re engaged with consultants, but it’s not as easy as showing them the bill, and City Power knows that.”
