NEW street electricity boxes are currently being installed in Birch Acres.
Security features on these boxes do not allow residents to read their own meters and report these readings to Ekurhuleni Metro Municipality.
Ward 91 DA Clr Allan Sauls said many residents in the area were used to reading their own meters and providing this information to the metro’s finance department for the billing cycle.
“The new security measures on these boxes precludes residents from being able to do this and the inclusion of a small glass window is not possible as it would become clouded over time and be a security risk,” he said.
Answers to questions posed by Sauls, confirmed that the metro policy did not allow residents the option of reporting their own meter readings.
“However, as this is not an option for residents with these new boxes they can choose to apply for a pre-paid meter.
Applications for pre-paid meters can be made at electricity customer services during office hours at the Len Futcher building on Plane Road in Spartan.
The cost of switching from a credit to a pre-paid meter is R330 for houses valued below R200 000 and R660 for those valued above R200 000,” explained Sauls.
Sauls pointed out that the benefits of a pre-paid meter allowed for close monitoring of electricity usage, especially for residents using residential tariff A, which is meant for low usage users.
