Daily Maverick has introduced a new reporting initiative called Electricity Extortion Watch following multiple accounts of intimidation by City Power and Eskom staff in Johannesburg.
The project comes after readers across Johannesburg described being approached at home by employees or contractors who threatened to disconnect electricity unless cash payments were made. One Parkhurst resident reported City Power staff demanding nearly R40,000 without prior notice last month, while a family in Meadowlands East, Soweto, said contractors collected between R150 and R250 from each household during a recent outage.
City Power stated that any proven misconduct would breach its policies and ethical standards. Eskom confirmed it does not permit employees or contractors to accept cash payments for repairs and advised residents against making such transfers.
Through the new platform, residents can submit anonymous reports, recordings and details to build a public database aimed at identifying repeat offenders and increasing accountability for the utilities involved.