Johannesburg's popular The Summit Club has had its electricity disconnected due to an unpaid R2.6 million bill, as Mayor Dada Morero led a citywide operation targeting businesses evading payment. The nightclub allegedly opened a fraudulent second account to avoid settling its debt and was found to have multiple safety violations during the inspection.

Morero indicated that this operation is part of a wider effort to recover billions in municipal debt needed for essential services, with the city mayor emphasising the point that this action aims to ensure fairness for all customers who diligently pay for their services, while rooting out those who evade payments and engage in illegal activities.

During the operation, City Power disconnected two major businesses in Hillbrow, The Summit Club, and a shopping complex that houses residential flats. The pair accumulated a combined electricity debt nearing R25 million, highlighting the significant revenue losses the City faces due to persistent non-compliance, the City said.

"These measures are essential to safeguarding the integrity of the electricity grid and ensuring that law-abiding, paying customers are not unfairly burdened by those who continue to evade payment and engage in unlawful activity," Morero stated.

This is part of an ongoing effort by City Power to reclaim over R10 billion owed to the City, with approximately R3.2 billion attributed to customers in inner-city areas alone.

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On Tuesday, law enforcement agencies from the city of Joburg descended on the The Summit Club nightclub over non-compliance.

Furtheremore, City Power, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), and the Building Control Unit conducted targeted inspections primarily in Hillbrow, scrutinising properties along Claim Street, Esselen Street, and Edith Cavell Street. The operation revealed a concerning situation with multiple hijacked and unlawfully occupied buildings, including commercial and residential properties with illegal connections, the City said.

Among the findings was a block of flats comprising more than 30 units that was disconnected last November due to the removal of illegal connections, the building remains without power. In another building, tenants were still paying rent while the property owner defaulted on rates, taxes, and electricity bills. City officials confirmed that illegal connections identified in previous inspections had been dismantled.

https://x.com/DadaMorero/status/2011058951488483450
The Summit Club, part of the operation, was found to owe R2.6 million in electricity debt, prompting the disconnection of its defaulted meter in accordance with City Power’s credit control policies. Additionally, the club was noted to have breached Section 4 of Regulation A25 for making internal layout changes without an approved city building plan, showcasing a disregard for regulatory compliance.

City Power spokesperson, Isaac Mangena, said the prevalence of illegal connections and failure to pay bills continues to strain the inner-city electricity network, heightening the risk of outages and potential infrastructure damage.

"The Summit Club is a popular venue within the inner city. We consider it as our business customer. We found that they owe us over R2.6 million. What is worrying is that the business has two accounts.

"With financial resources diverted away from essential maintenance and upgrades, it is crucial to address these challenges to restore stability within the network," Mangena stated.

Source: https://iol.co.za/news/south-africa/2026-01-14-city-power-disconnects-summit-nightclub-over-r26-million-electricity-debt/