Some Tshwane residents have outright refused that the metro replace their old electricity meters because of problems experienced with the new ones by other users, according to utilities MMC Abel Tau.
Tau told Rekord the metro still had about 5 000 meters, which must still be replaced before the end of June.
He said some installations were outstanding because of some people not being home at the time of installation.
“Some of the people are overseas, which is an issue,” he said.
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He said some residents also believed the new smart meters the metro was rolling out were “inferior” to the old ones.
“The meters we are installing are adequate,” said utility services Abel Tau MMC.
“We would not give users a meter that is a downgrade.”
These remarks came after residents complained to Rekord that the new meters had “primitive” features, and were a step down from the Peu/TUMS meters they were using before a court ordered the metro to replace them all by beginning of July.
He added that they had given more training to the staff tasked with replacing the old meters.
Tau also said residents who had “normal” meters installed as a temporary stopgap measure would be provided with smart meters after all replacements are complete.
These users were supplied with temporary meters in order for the metro to meet the deadline, which is now less than a month away.
He said due to capturing on new databases the metro had to happen quickly so that all users are moved to the new system before the deadline expires and data is lost. Users would then be left without any electricity at all because their credits have not been moved to the new system.
Tau encouraged residents to allow staff to replace the meters so that their data would be captured on the new system.
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He added that the metro was well on track to meet the deadline; with regards to bulk power users they were also on track and had not received any complaints on the new meters, which was “a positive”.
Tau previously said the decision to replace the meters was a crucial one as the previous meters were setting back the metro R4-million daily.
Tau said the old smart meter contract was “unfair” and was haemorrhaging the metro R4-million a day.
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