Residents warned of smart meter scammers

Residents in the north of Pretoria have been advised to report any suspicious contractors who claim to be changing existing electricity meters to pre-paid meters to the police.

Tshwane metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said consumers should report such incidents to the police.

This was after Rekord was alerted to suspicious contractors who claimed to be tasked with installing pre-paid meters but did not provide any form of identification.

“The contractors from the city have to identify themselves and they have a job card with customer details,” Mashigo said.

“The contractors have been issued with permit letters as proof of identification which customers must request.”

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According to him, the metro was busy with a project to convert conventional meters to pre-paid.

“The city is currently busy with a project to convert electricity conventional meters with pre-paid,” he said.

Concerned resident Rina Marx said with all the theft and robberies going on, it was concerning those unknown people who did not identify themselves were attempting to gain entry to homes.

“I hope this can be resolved quickly by the relevant people responsible for this,” she said.

Marx said the alleged contractors threatened residents who did not want to have the pre-paid meter installed that their power would be cut and also requested money to “make it go away”.

“Some of these guys tell residents they will make it go away if they pay them a certain amount of money,” said Marx.

Another resident, who requested not to be named, said contractors who came to his house and spoke to his wife drove in an unmarked vehicle.

They did not look presentable and carried no identification, except a photocopied letter notifying them about the installation of the prepaid meter.

“He wrote on the letter that she refused to have the meter installed and proceeded to threaten her that their power would be cut.”

He was then reportedly called later on and requested to make a cash payment of R800 “to make this disappear” while another call was received the following day, requesting payment of R1 400 so that the couple’s power would not be cut.

Yet another resident found a similar letter on his gate. He did not hear from the “installers” directly, as they had contacted his landlord.

Refilwe Koma, meanwhile, said she opted to turn the alleged contractors away when they came to her house as they reportedly came after hours and could not elaborate on why they had to install the pre-paid meters.

Earlier this week, Rekord reported that the metro was aiming to convert 162 000 households to pre-paid meters within three years in an attempt to boost revenue collection and the metro’s economic health which was recently described to be in a dire state by mayor Randall Williams.

Williams said the project would continue into the next financial year, in line with the available budget.

“This phase includes installing at least 24 000 meters across the city at different households,” Williams said.

In a media briefing last week, utilities MMC Phillip Nel said the installation of the pre-paid meters was important for improving revenue for the metro as it faced billions of rand owned to it by residents and businesses for consumed services.

“We will target a suburb and advertise that we are working in the area so the process can speed up,” said Nel.

“We hope that in three years, we will have converted most of the consumers within the region.”

He added that the pre-paid meters would also be installed in the upgrading of informal settlements.

“Residents will be notified through pamphlets, seven days prior to the scheduled installation,” he said.

“They will also be presented with user manuals on how to use the keypad/meter once the installation has been completed.”

More than 61% of properties in the metro were already purchasing electricity via pre-paid meters. This phase would contribute to developing a completely smart metered electricity network that benefited all of the residents in the metro.

“The newly installed pre-paid meters will be preloaded with 5kWh. Consumers are encouraged to load more units onto the new meter for their own household usage.”

Williams also reiterated that all of their technicians had permits with their full identification details and contact information, adding that they would be compliant with Covid-19 regulations.

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