Are prepaid meters the answer?
Mr Masange agrees that the increases reflected on electricity bills seem a bit exorbitant but is sceptical about whether prepaid meters are the answer.
An outcry from the community for pre-paid meters following sky-high electricity bills, was greeted with scepticism by municipal manager, Kebone Masange.
Some residents complained that their bills had increased by more than R1 000.
Mr Masange agreed that the dramatic increases seemed irregular and promised to look into it this week, but warned that while residents believed that prepaid meters would result in lower bills, many might actually find themselves paying more.
“There have been serious protests in other areas where the prepaid meters were rolled out because in some cases people found that the cost had increased,” he warned.
In order to identify and curtail problems with the repaid system before it is rolled out in Newcastle, a pilot project will be set up in Ncandu Park and monitored closely.
“The results we get in Ncandu Park will determine whether we roll out the prepaid system to other areas of the municipality,” explained Mr Masange.
The previous tender process for the smart meter system was brought to a standstill last year when allegations of fraud were exposed in the media.
Mr Masange also denied claims that the municipality was deliberately overcharging residents for utilities in order to be able to afford the multi-million tower block currently under construction.
“Residents’ accounts for water and electricity are based purely on consumption and people are wrong to assume that we are trying to raise money for the building this way. Money for the development of the town comes from the rates,” he said.
