City Power lines

Photo: Marcus Wong via Wikimedia Commons

Malicious computer virus cripples City Power IT systems

Some residents in Johannesburg have been unable to buy power because of a computer virus attacking the City Power systems.

City Power lines

Photo: Marcus Wong via Wikimedia Commons

Electricity utility City Power, which is owned by the Johannesburg municipality, has revealed that a computer virus has caused a complete blackout of its information technology (IT) systems, leaving customers unable to vend via its website.

City Power computer virus

Following complaints from frustrated residents who were unable to purchase electricity, City Power admitted that it had been hit by a computer virus which has made access to its website virtually impossible.

“The virus has attacked our database and other software, impacting most of our applications and networks,” spokesman Isaac Mangena said.

“This has affected our customers’ ability to vend, that is buying electricity, upload invoices, or access our website. It may also affect our response to some outages as the system to order and dispatch material is affected.”

As this is a completely unexpected problem, there is no way customers could have made provision for it, so anyone who left purchasing electricity to the last unit may be facing the very real danger of a blackout.

Alternative option to buy electricity

The good news, though, is that they are hoping to have a solution sooner rather than later and, for those who are able, access is still available through the mobile website at citypower.mobi.

“We are hoping to have a solution by midday. We apologise to the customers for the inconvenience this is causing to them,” Mangena said.

It is just yet another in a long line of electricity-related issues faced by Gauteng. Earlier in July 2019, the City of Johannesburg was forced to scrap new electricity charges following huge public backlash to the idea.

The surcharge was meant to better align pre-paid tariffs to conventional tariffs but was scrapped shortly after the idea was mooted due to complaints from residents already suffering under the weight of a struggling economy.