City call centre handles nearly 272 000 customer interactions in May 2026
03 June 2026
The staggering numbers demonstrate the high demand for municipal services and the importance of multiple customer engagement channels. The interactions included 116 758 telephone calls, 36 990 emails, 109 125 WhatsApp engagements, and 9 067 SMS interactions across the City's Accounts and General, Water, and Electricity service queues.
The City of Cape Town's Customer Relations Department recorded a total of 271 940 customer interactions between 1 and 28 May 2026 compared to 219 159 customer interactions in April 2026. The City saw an escalation in calls when Cape Town experienced severe weather and heavy rains last month.
The Electricity queue accounted for the largest share of customer interactions with 45 525 calls, 13 306 emails, 70 855 WhatsApp messages and 6 982 SMS engagements, followed by Water services, which received 16 934 calls, 9 337 emails, 38 270 WhatsApp messages and 2 085 SMS interactions.
The City also received 134 274 service requests during the reporting period. The most frequently reported service requests were:
No Power: 17 660
Street Lights: 14 277
Sewer Blockages: 12 324
Bin Related: 5 800
Tree Related: 5 204
Potholes: 2 562
The City's digital channels continue to play an increasingly important role in customer service delivery. Of the 134 274 service requests received during the reporting period, 51 851 requests (38,6%) were logged through the City's online fault reporting platforms, including the City mobile application and web-based fault reporting tools.
The most common service requests logged online were:
Street Lights: 9 706
No Power: 6 514
Sewer Blockages: 4 501
Tree Related: 2 717
Potholes:1 807
‘The severe weather we experienced in May put our operational teams to the test, resulting in a high demand for municipal services. I am proud of our call centre staff and operational teams who worked tirelessly to address these issues.
‘We are seeing a positive trend with residents utilising our digital tools. During major disruptions, the phone lines can become overwhelmed. I strongly encourage residents to use the City’s mobile app or online fault reporting tools. These channels provide a quicker, 24-hour avenue to report faults like power outages or potholes, ensuring a quicker and more convenient way to report service-related issues,’ said Alderman Theresa Uys, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Corporate Services.
Residents are further encouraged to make use of the City's online fault reporting tools and mobile app to log service requests as well as to ensure that sufficient information and accurate location details are provided when reporting faults.
The City reminds residents that logging multiple requests for the same fault can create duplicate records and place additional pressure on response systems.
The figures above relate exclusively to customer engagements handled by the City's Corporate Call Centre and do not include calls made to the City's 107 Public Emergency Communication Centre.
For reporting purposes, an interaction refers to any customer engagement with the Corporate Call Centre, whether telephonically or in writing via email, SMS or WhatsApp. A large percentage of customer interactions are resolved at the first point of contact and do not require the creation of a service request. These include account-related enquiries, such as balance or consumption enquiries, requests for copies of invoices, general requests for information and other routine customer service matters.
A service request is created when a customer complaint or fault report requires further intervention or action by a City service department. Examples include reports of power outages, potholes, sewer blockages, streetlight faults, water outages and other service-related issues requiring operational follow-up.
End
Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
