- Students and small businesses protected from power cuts during dispute.
- City admitted to millions in overbilling, but penalties were never corrected.
- Court orders a fair process to determine the true amount owed.
For hundreds of students in Johannesburg’s inner city, the electricity bill fight between their landlord and the City of Johannesburg has been more than just numbers. It has been a constant fear that one day the lights might go out.
These young people, many from struggling families, pay for their electricity through prepaid meters. They always make sure to load units so they can study, cook, and live with dignity. But their future was threatened by a long-running billing dispute that had nothing to do with them.
On the ground floor of the same building, small shop owners also worried about losing power. They operate with very slim margins. A power cut could ruin stock, drive away customers, and leave workers without pay. They had no say in how the landlord and the City fought over electricity accounts, yet they would have felt the impact first.
How the problem started
The trouble began years ago when Ordicode, the landlord, noticed electricity bills that didn’t add up. Faulty meter settings led to inflated charges. In 2020, City Power admitted it had overcharged Ordicode by R3.8 million. While that amount was reversed, the interest and penalties remained.
The landlord argued it was unfair to be penalised for an amount it never owed. To complicate things, one of the meters may have been wrongly classified as “commercial” instead of “domestic,” resulting in higher charges for electricity used in student spaces.
Whenever the City received no meter reading, it used estimates. Those estimates were based on faulty numbers, making the bills even more inflated. Letters from Ordicode’s lawyers went unanswered. By 2023, the landlord turned to the courts to stop disconnections and fix the account.
The court’s response
Judge SDJ Wilson acknowledged that the account was a mess but pointed out that courts cannot rebuild accounts from the ground up. Instead, he took a more practical approach, ordering both sides to sit down and discuss the account properly. If they agree on what is owed, it records that amount. If not, each side must present their calculations based on the correct tariffs, and the court will make the decision.
Importantly, the judge upheld an earlier order that the City cannot cut off the electricity while the dispute is unresolved. This decision protects the students and shopkeepers who rely on the building’s supply every day.
Conviction.co.za
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