Electricity forum sparks debate

Poor consumer turnout marred the Newcastle Electricity Customer Communication Forum meeting on Saturday.

Only seven residents were in attendance at this meeting, which took place at Town Hall.

Among important items dissected by officials from the Department of Electrical and Mechanical Services, were the high electricity rates and prepaid meters.

Chairman, Lucas Nsukazi opened the meeting with an explanation of its purpose.

“As per NERSA (National Energy Regulator: South Africa) regulations, the municipality is required to hold such meetings at least every quarter.”

Mr Nsukazi said officials were eager to work in conjunction with residents, and address any matters raised by consumers.

An area which continued to give headaches, he added, was the current billing system.

Mr Nsukazi went on to commend those responsible for the high maintenance standard, and officials who helped launch the smart metering system.

However, he expressed concern with the high cost of electricity supply.

“As consumers, we must seriously look at alternative energy sources. We have very few mining companies who have applied to explore for coal in this area.”

Strategic Executive Director (SED) for Electrical and Mechanical Services, Lindile Zincume elaborated on the prepaid or smart metering system.

As of July last year, consumers could apply for a conversion to this system.

However, he revealed there were only about 600 households making use of the system, with approximately 800 smart metres still in stock.

Consumers were urged to submit their applications for the updated system.

“We have 18 000 consumers on the old system. We can’t replace the meters all at once, but we request consumers report any faults, so we can switch over to the new digital system.”

Mr Zincume also talked on the high rates bills, the effect of so-called seasonal tariffs, and the difference between normal, peak and off-peak tariffs.

“We’ve approached NERSA to review and revise the current block tariff. We are awaiting a cost-of-supply study for generating power, so we can find a reasonable tariff.”

Expanding on the high-season tariff, Mr Zincume said as much as R70-million was paid in the winter months, while the summer consumption was as little as R30-million.

For this reason, a way to minimise expenses had to be pondered on.

“We have proposed to council for an alternative energy source to produce 20 megawatts. 20 per cent of energy from a renewable source will help. We are awaiting the new council to take this forward.”

Mr Nsukazi then touched on the current billing system.

He said it was a right of consumers to receive a fully-calculated statement, but at present, they were only receiving a ‘scratch paper’ with the amount owed.

While estimation was permitted in certain situations, Mr Nsukazi said much had to change.

“We must review the current systems; we also want revision of the reconnection fees, because it becomes a burden to those who struggle to pay.”

While Mr Zincume deferred this point to his colleagues in Budget and Treasury, he stated there was an addition to the municipal website, where consumers could register for a full statement.

He promised to provide feedback on the matter at the next forum meeting.