ActionSA on Wednesday rejected the “unjustified” new electricity service charges imposed by City Power, and is urging residents to sign the party’s petition before the next Council sitting.

Lat week, City Power announced that as of July 1, Gauteng residents on Joburg City Power's prepaid meters will be charged a recurring R200 monthly fee, which would encompass R70 for service charges and R130 for network capacity charges.

The fee is in addition to the 12.7% tariff increase which the utility also implemented on 1 July.

The announcement came after the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) approved its tariff increase application.

ActionSA CoJ caucus leader Nobuhle Mthembu said ActionSA would aim to have the decision rescinded at the next council meeting and send City Power “back to the drawing board” to explore other available means to collect its revenue.

Mthembu explained that despite her party’s efforts to put the interests of all residents first, particularly those from low-income households, political parties including the African National Congress, Economic Freedom Fighters, Patriotic Alliance, Al-Jamah-ah, African Independent Congress, African Heart Congress, African People's Convention, African Transformation Movement, Cope, and Good supported the fixed monthly service charge of R200 on residents.

She said her party maintained its objection to the “unjustified” service charges, particularly because it acknowledged the plight of residents, especially those who were just about managing to make ends meet, and who simply could not bear the extra burden imposed by the “governing chaos coalition”.

She said that ActionSA strongly believed that while City Power must recover its revenue from defaulting residents, the same approach should be applied to certain provincial departments that have defaulted on their payments in the past, including the departments of Education, Health, Housing, Infrastructure Development, and Transport.

The party also continues to call for the disconnection of hijacked buildings from the City Power grid.