Power Cut For Popular Hillbrow Summit Nightclub Over R2.6m City Power Debt

Johannesburg’s popular Summit Club in Hillbrow has had its electricity disconnected after failing to settle an outstanding R2.6 million electricity bill.

The shutdown formed part of a citywide revenue recovery operation led by Joburg Mayor Dada Morero, targeting businesses accused of evading payment while continuing to operate.

City officials allege the nightclub opened a fraudulent second electricity account in an attempt to avoid paying its growing debt. Inspectors also uncovered multiple safety and compliance violations during the operation.

City Targets Billions Owed as Businesses Face Disconnection

Morero said the enforcement drive is aimed at recovering billions of rands owed to the City, funds needed to maintain essential municipal services.

“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 said.

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During the Hillbrow operation, two major businesses — The Summit Club and a nearby shopping complex with residential flats — were disconnected. Together, they had accumulated electricity debts close to R25 million, underlining the scale of revenue losses caused by non-compliance, the City said.

Illegal Power Connections and Safety Breaches Exposed

The operation involved City Power, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), and the Building Control Unit, with inspections carried out along Claim Street, Esselen Street, and Edith Cavell Street.

Officials reported a worrying number of hijacked and unlawfully occupied buildings, many with illegal electricity connections across both commercial and residential properties.

Among the findings was a block of flats with more than 30 units, which has remained without power since November, after illegal connections were removed. In another case, tenants continued paying rent while the property owner defaulted on rates, taxes, and electricity accounts.

City Power confirmed that previously identified illegal connections had been dismantled.

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The Summit Club was also found to have contravened Section 4 of Regulation A25 by making internal structural changes without approved building plans, further highlighting regulatory breaches.

‘Illegal Connections Straining Inner-City Grid’

City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena warned that illegal connections and unpaid bills are placing severe pressure on the inner-city electricity network.

“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,” Mangena said.

He added that unpaid accounts divert funds away from critical maintenance and upgrades.

“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.

City Power is currently working to recover more than R10 billion owed to the City, with approximately R3.2 billion linked to inner-city customers alone.

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