ABOUT 200 pre-paid electricity meters in Kempton Park are still causing problems.
According to metro spokesman, Themba Gadebe, Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality has a limited number of these meters where interference is caused in the communication path between the meter and keypad.
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“The problem is caused by certain household appliances interrupting the mains-borne signal, leading to the Error 30 condition. In short, a customer may be unable to upload electricity units purchased into a pre-payment meter,” Gadebe added.
“Kempton Park specifically, has about 200 meters experiencing a problem with intermittent interference between the keypad and the measuring device (meter). Statistically, the Kempton meter database consists of 36 847 electricity meters. Calculating the effect of 200 meters on that value yields a total of 0,5 per cent in relation to errors.
“The problem, therefore, can hardly be described as a common event, even over the pre-payment meter database of the metro which exceeds a quarter of a million. A plan to deal with the inconvenience was formulated months back. Each known Error 30 meter will be replaced with a newer technology meter, which will not be affected by appliance interference.”
Gadebe said about 15 per cent of the affected meters in Kempton Park have already been replaced, with the rest scheduled for replacement in the next few weeks.
Residents in Kempton Park with the Error 30 problem can call the energy depot on 011-999-3925 or 011-999-3918.
