Meter audit reveals theft, fraud
Such criminal activities must be reported to law enforcement or the city’s energy department on 011 999 5671.
The CoE has begun auditing prepaid electricity meters across the city as part of its project to upgrade all prepaid power meters.
Initially, the city worked to upgrade all prepaid meters last June to ensure they were all normalised ahead of the deadline (November 24) for upgrading prepaid meters, known as a key change.
However, meters not yet upgraded will be normalised by resetting and upgrading them on-site during the ongoing audits.
“The prepaid meters audit is part of the city’s efforts to ensure all meters are upgraded to KRN 2 (key change upgrade) and unaffected come the deadline this month,” explained metro spokesperson Zweli Dlamini.
Theft and fraud
The audit, which started on November 13 in Windmill Park Ext 2 and 3, saw technicians go door-to-door to audit meters and highlighted the alarming problem of electricity fraud in the township.
They found several bypassed or tampered meters, costing the city a significant amount monthly in lost revenue.
It was also reported that people posing as municipal officials or contractors use the disconnection of prepaid meters to extort money from residents.
Also Read: Electricity resellers urged to stop overcharging consumers
Political parties in the council called for stricter enforcement of the city’s credit control policy because illegal connections and tampered meters put the city in a financial crisis.
According to the metro, households found to have bypassed or tampered with their meters were disconnected, given R5 000 fines and will be subjected to R2 000 reconnection fees.
“If a prepaid meter is not upgraded to KRN2 key change by the stipulated date, the customer will not be able to buy and load electricity units for that meter,” explained Dlamini.
While city technicians crisscross the region doing audits, customers should be cautious of bogus officials purporting to work for the city and disconnecting prepaid meters in exchange for money.
Such criminal activities must be reported to law enforcement or the city’s energy department on 011 999 5671.
Also Read: CoE replaces all conventional electricity meters with pre-paid meters
