What non-vending customers need to know
By now, I thought I’d be off the grid.
Instead, I’ve walked through the doors of City Power and the City of Johannesburg nine times.
Nine visits.
Nine explanations.
Nine versions of the same form.
And every time, my request to disconnect from the grid is captured as something else entirely.
“Your account is marked as a conversion.”
Not a disconnection.
Not an exit.
A conversion.
A small but critical detail – the (R900- 1500) threshold
Here’s something many people don’t know.
If your monthly pre-paid electricity spend drops below (R900- 1500) as per latest City Power communication, excluding the price per kilowatt and where the monthly charge is made up of a service fee- price dependent on capacity provided + network capacity charge of approximately R 900), your account can flag as non-vending in City Power’s system.
That flag isn’t about wrongdoing.
It’s about activity.
For households producing their own power – solar, hybrid, partial off-grid – this can happen quietly and often without warning.
And once flagged, things change.
How the system actually works (and where it goes wrong)
One important clarification:
The disconnection request (removal of supply) is made at the City of Johannesburg, not City Power.
From there, the request flows through internal systems and is automatically processed at City Power as a “conversion” request” – not a disconnection.
This isn’t about unhelpful people.
In fact, I want to be very clear about this:
The City of Johannesburg staff I’ve dealt with have been exceptionally helpful, often going out of their way to assist, explain and try resolve the issue.
The challenge appears to sit within the systems themselves, not the people operating them.
A request to exit the grid becomes, by default, a request to convert your billing status.
That distinction matters more than you might think.
What “conversion” actually means
Recently, The Daily Maverick published an article that helped explain what’s happening behind the scenes for non-vending prepaid customers in Johannesburg.
City Power has confirmed that it is converting non-vending prepaid customers to post-paid billing as part of a revenue recovery drive.
According to City Power’s own notice:
“City Power will begin converting all non-vending prepaid residential customers to postpaid billing accounts… to enable the entity to recover lost revenue.”
And further:
“Once implemented, this will allow credit recovery measures to take effect, which may include blacklisting after all necessary processes have been exhausted.”
That sentence stopped me cold.
The unintended consequence of independence
Many homeowners aren’t non-vending because they’re bypassing the system.
They’re non-vending because they are producing their own power.
In theory, this should reduce strain on infrastructure.
In practice, it appears to trigger reclassification.
City Power’s notice also confirms the following may apply:
So even if you’re barely drawing power, being technically connected means your account can be:
I can’t prove intent.
But I can recognise a pattern.
Why this matters beyond my house
While this journey relates specifically to my experience with City Power and the City of Johannesburg, it’s important to note that the underlying pressures are not unique to Johannesburg. Aging infrastructure, declining municipal revenue and the rapid growth of self-generation are realities facing many local authorities. As these dynamics play out, other municipalities may well adopt the same or similar approaches over time.
This means the implications extend far beyond one city or one homeowner.
It affects:
As The Daily Maverick notes, while overall outages may be declining, equipment failure now accounts for roughly 60% of disruptions, driven by aging infrastructure – some transformers nearly 90 years old.
The grid is under pressure.
Revenue is under pressure.
Policy is adjusting.
That’s not emotional.
It’s structural.
So where does that leave us?
For me, I’m still waiting.
Still on the system
Still converted.
Still connected – on paper.
But I’m also documenting every step, so others don’t walk into this blind.
If you’re thinking about:
then this journey isn’t just mine.
It’s yours too.
Ask Mike
This series was never about selling solar.
It was about sharing reality.
If you have questions – practical, legal, logistical or even emotional – please ask them.
Ask Mike about:
I’ll keep sharing what I’m learning – in real time, without hype.
Because energy independence shouldn’t come with hidden consequences.
At the moment, there’s a noticeable trend in the issues I’m being called out for and often, it comes back to solar system design. More
The conversation I’m having with homeowners right now. One of the interesting things about being an electrician is that you start to notice patterns in
When I started sharing my off-grid journey, I never expected it to become quite so emotional or controversial. Right now, though, things feel like they’ve come to a standstill. I’ve done what I can, followed the processes, asked the questions, and pushed where it made sense to push. For the moment, all that’s left is to wait and see what the next move from City Power and the City of Johannesburg will be.
What non-vending customers need to know.
By now, I thought I’d be off the grid.
Instead, I’ve walked through the doors of City Power and the City of Johannesburg nine times.
I never planned to disconnect from the grid until a recent policy shift changed everything. City Power announced an obligatory conversion for certain prepaid and
South Africans often think “an inverter is an inverter.”
Not true.
Here are the three types – simply explained:
