R17-million electricity bill reeks of criminal activity

A local property owner has decided to take the City to task for its failure to correct his R17-million billing issue.

Nico Niemand, owner of a property in Brixton has been trying to get the City of Johannesburg to correct his electricity billing issue since 2015.

The bill currently stands at over R17-million for one house in Brixton.

According to Niemand, the problem began in 2015 when a City Power official came to his to property to install a prepaid electricity meter.

He said, “The City Power official, after installing the meter, said he needs to register it at his offices. After that day I never saw him again. When I went to City Power to investigate the matter I was told that the meter installed at my property was a stolen meter.”

After being told the meter was a stolen one, and countless attempts to resolve the matter, Niemand’s bill has been running since 2015 and now stands at this multi-million rand figure.

Besides the incorrect R17-million, Niemand is also concerned with the fact that the meter number on his meter box and the meter number on his monthly bill do not match.

The meter number on the meter box is 48000367689 while the number on the bill is 48000040716. He said, “This is a clear indication that something strange is going on with my bill.”

Another clue that made Niemand sceptical of this issue is that on his July 2015 the account statement, the time when his meter was changed, there are two meter numbers.

The first (29104403661) and the second (48000040716), clear proof that the City was aware that someone had been sent out to change his meters.

After over 40 trips and meetings at City Power’s offices, Niemand feels that there is corruption involved in all of this. He has opened a criminal case at Johannesburg Central Police Station and plans to fight this to the very end.

He said that he had plans to rent out the property but due to the billing crisis he is going through, he hasn’t been able to and this has resulted in him losing close to R900 000 in the last three years.

Niemand is urging every homeowner to have a look at the meter number on their box and their bill. He is advising them all to ensure that the two numbers match so that they are not incorrectly billed as he has been experiencing.

The Northcliff Melville Times contacted City Power about the matter and they said they are currently investigating it.

This is a developing story.

More information will follow as and when it becomes available.