I HAVE some sympathy with Frustrated pensioner of Waterfall (Letters to the Editor page dated 17 February) having similarly experienced a longer than usual period wherein I have been invoiced for estimated electricity consumption.
On one occasion, the meter was officially read, but the data evidently not captured.
However, to help sooth the frustration of my fellow pensioner, it is possible to SMS the meter reading to eThekwini Municipality.
Contact details are on the reverse side of the older invoices where the electricity meter reading can be sent by SMS to 083 700 0819 quoting the reading, the account number and meter number.
I did this for the first time recently and received a pleasant response a day later from a customer care clerk, thanking me for the information and assuring me that it had been captured on their system. Sure enough, when my electricity bill arrived (now by email) a few days later, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a considerably lower charge than normal, reflecting actual electricity usage, so the effort was certainly worth it.
I plan to SMS my meter reading to the electricity department at the beginning of each month and trust that my electricity bills will continue to be more reasonable than they have been in recent months.
Full marks to eThekwini Municipality for getting it right.
Jim Crawley
Hillcrest
