“Joulene, why is my power off?” Johannesburg’s troubled electricity supply utility, City Power, has launched a customer-facing AI chatbot called Joulene.

City Power, which is struggling to keep the lights on in Joburg due to the city’s ageing power distribution infrastructure and rampant criminality, said the launch of Joulene coincides with the relaunch of its customer portal.

The utility explained in a statement that the name “Joulene” is derived from “joule”, the unit of energy.

“Adding ‘ne’ to ‘Joule’ gives it a feminine touch, transforming it into ‘Joulene’. This not only personalises the name but also symbolises gender diversity and acknowledges the vital role of women leaders while celebrating their significant contribution to driving progress and excellence within City Power,” it said.

The AI chatbot is available at www.citypower.co.za, where users will find the Joulene icon at the bottom right of every webpage. Users simply click the icon, enter their query, and wait for Joulene to provide an answer (that is hopefully useful).

City Power will not discontinue any of its other customer-facing platforms as a result of the launch of the AI chatbot. Residents will still be able to interact with the utility though: