Curro fights back after City Power cuts school’s electricity over disputed R9.3m debt
· Citizen
Curro Sagewood had its power disconnected this week, but says its debt isn’t legitimate and has the court papers to prove it.
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The Johannesburg private school is pushing back hard after City Power, accompanied by the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department, arrived at the school on the morning of 23 June 2026 and cut its electricity supply.
“The disconnection was unlawful, and power was restored within an hour,” Curro told The Citizen.
Their response centres on a debt of R9.3 million that Curro says it does not owe, a position it has held since 2021 and is now pursuing through the High Court.
The debt Curro says was never theirs to begin with
Curro says the alleged debt did not originate from its own consumption but from clearance fees linked to a previous property owner, charges that the City of Johannesburg incorrectly loaded onto Curro’s municipal account.
“Curro always pays what it legitimately owes,” the school said, adding that the amount was initially reversed by the city on its own records, only to reappear in subsequent invoices as purported unpaid utilities, with no breakdown or substantiation provided.
Curro said it lodged a formal billing dispute with the City of Johannesburg as far back as July 2021, supported by an independent expert report confirming that City Power’s billing is incorrect.
“The alleged debt originated from clearance fees attributable to a previous property owner, which the City of Johannesburg improperly loaded onto Curro’s municipal account,” Curro said.
City’s own officials acknowledged the dispute – then did nothing
What has deepened Curro’s frustration is that the city’s own authorised officials, during engagements with the school’s legal representatives since 2022, acknowledged that the disputed amount was not owed by Curro and that the matter should be resolved accordingly.
That undertaking was never honoured.
Having exhausted all administrative channels by 2025, Curro instructed its attorneys to approach the High Court to compel the city to act on what its own officials had already agreed to.
That application is pending, with the city indicating it intends to oppose, though it has not yet filed any papers. Curro has applied for a set-down date.
“During protracted engagement between the parties and their legal representatives since 2022, the City of Johannesburg’s own authorised officials agreed that the amount in question was not owed by Curro and that the dispute should be resolved accordingly,” the school said. “The city has failed to honour that undertaking.”
Power cut despite documented proof presented on the day
When the City Power team arrived on 23 June, the school’s executive head presented documented proof of the live dispute on site.
The disconnection team refused to consider it and proceeded anyway.
Curro’s legal representatives then contacted the city’s attorneys directly, and the supply was restored within the hour.
The school operated on backup power during the brief outage, and Curro confirmed that no teaching or learning was disrupted. “It is in these circumstances, with a formally registered dispute and pending High Court proceedings, that City Power disconnected electricity supply to a functioning school,” Curro said.
The school also made it clear that it is not withholding payment arbitrarily.
Curro pays all current monthly municipal charges for electricity and water in full and on time, with no arrears on current consumption.
“The only amount withheld is the disputed sum, which is ringfenced in accordance with the Municipal Systems Act pending finalisation of the dispute,” it said.
City Power’s version and why Curro says it’s damaging
City Power issued its own media statement on 24 June, the day after the disconnection and reconnection had already taken place.
City Power’s Acting Chief Executive Officer, Charles Tlouane, had framed the disconnection as part of a broader revenue protection crackdown targeting high-value defaulters.
He said the school was indebted to the utility by R9.3 million, with arrears accumulating since 2023. “It is surprising that an institution of this nature, which is generally regarded as financially stable within the private education sector, has accumulated such a substantial debt,” Tlouane said.
City Power maintained that the decision to disconnect was not taken lightly, but said prolonged non-compliance had placed severe strain on the utility’s ability to recover revenue and sustain its network.
“Situations like this place undue pressure on City Power’s ability to maintain and upgrade critical infrastructure, while also impacting our efforts to ensure reliable electricity supply to paying customers across Johannesburg,” Tlouane added.
Curro pursuing legal action against the city
Curro claimed the statement contained claims that it describes as factually incorrect and reputationally damaging.
The school is pursuing all available legal remedies in respect of what it calls an unlawful disconnection, as well as the city’s continued failure to resolve the dispute through the processes it agreed to.
“Curro is pursuing all available remedies in respect of the unlawful disconnection and the city’s continued failure to resolve this matter through the processes it agreed to,” the school said.