MM apologises for electricity bill blunder
The amount by which residents have been overcharged for electricity will be deducted from the next bill.
The exorbitantly high electricity bills residents received last month were due to an operational blunder and the municipal manager has promised to make amends.
On the ‘Newcastle’s Newspaper’ Facebook page, last week, more than 100 ratepayers bemoaned that the fact that their utility bills reflected an inexplicable increase in electricity consumption.
Some complained that their bills had increased by more than R1 000, and many demanded prepaid meters so that they would be able to monitor their electricity usage more efficiently.
Residents speculated that the community was being deliberately overcharged so that the council could afford the new tower block currently under construction.
A report municipal manager, Kebone Masange, received from the Finance Department, however, identifies what actually went wrong.
According to the report, electricity meter readers employed by the municipality had not been performing their duties effectively for various reasons.
Some staff members were reported to have been sick, on leave or simply arrived late for work during when the meter readings for September were supposed to have been taken,
As a result, meter readings were taken late and instead of being billed for a 30 / 31 day period, like residents were supposed to, they ended up being billed for up to nine additional days.
Due to the fact that the Newcastle municipality implements a step tariff for billing electricity, the impact of being billed on an extended period of consumption has been disastrous.
Effectively, the rate residents are charged for their electricity increases with the usage.
“The department didn’t realise the impact that the step tariff would have if people were billed over a longer period. Obviously, if the meter readings are taken late and the consumption for that period reflects a higher usage, residents will end up paying a significantly higher tariff, which has led to all of these problems,” explained Mr Masange.
“I want to offer my sincere apologies to the residents of Newcastle. We will make amends. The extra amount that was charged for electricity in September’s bill will be deducted from the next bill.”
Residents who still feel aggrieved are invited to approach the Revenue Section at the municipality’s Finance Department to seek a solution.
