By Everson Luhanga
- City Power’s Shalazile solar project won runner-up for helping informal residents get safe, reliable electricity without illegal connections.
- The power utility is rolling out similar solar microgrids across Johannesburg to cut Eskom use and bring power to poor communities.
City Power has been honoured for bringing clean, legal electricity to people living in shacks at the shantytown. This is the place where surviving victims of the Usindiso building fire were relocated in November 2023.
In July 2024 the Shalazile camp in Denver, which was set up in November 2023 as a temporary shelter for victims of the Marshalltown fire, received a multimillion-rand solar power system powered by City Power and the City of Johannesburg.
City Power General Manager Isaac Mangena said the power utility was named runner-up at the 2025 South African Photovoltaic Industry Association Awards. “It was recognised in the socio-economic development category for its solar microgrid at the Shalazile settlement in Denver, Johannesburg.
The project gives residents safe access to electricity without needing dangerous illegal connections.
Mangena said Shalazile is just one of many. The award shines a light on City Power’s bigger plan: the first solar-powered microgrid programme run by a city in the southern hemisphere.
“This plan is part of the utility’s 10-point strategy to cut Eskom use, stop energy losses and give power to people in informal areas,” he said.
He said City Power started the programme in Alexandra at the Amarasta settlement. Now, it has spread to Vlakfontein, which is even bigger than Shalazile and is expanding to Vukani and The View.
City Power CEO Tshifularo Mashava said the SAPVIA award is not just about the grids. “It’s about helping people live in dignity, with legal and safe energy,” she said.
Mashava said the Gauteng government is backing the programme. The grids give reliable electricity even during blackouts and help stop cable theft.
City Power Board Chairperson Makhosini Kharodi said the recognition proves their energy plan is working. “We’re not waiting for change. We’re building it.”
Mashava said City Power is also installing solar panels on clinics, schools and its own buildings. They’re adding solar streetlights in informal areas and fixing gas turbines to boost backup power.
It’s all part of cutting down on Eskom and pushing for a fair energy future.
“This is just the beginning,” said Mashava. “We’ll light up every community, one microgrid at a time.”
Shalazile camp was built in a place where the city of Johannesburg was supposed to have a vehicle pound. After spending R45-million on a project to build a pound to keep thousands of vehicles, the pound never opened.
Resident Themba Mdlalose said he is happy with the project, which guarantees constant and safe power for the community living at the camp.
Pictured above: City Power CEO Tshifularo Mashava receives the award.
Image source: City Power
