Residents upset over electricity bills
"If a query is raised on electricity or water, the query has to be resolved first and it will not be fair to activate credit control without the query being resolved."
Various Centurion residents are unhappy on how the Tshwane metro bills them for electricity consumption.
Peter Morey, who resides at the Cornwall Hill estate, says he has been trying to solve this issue since late last year.
“It is a nightmare.”
Morey said he had been taking his meter readings for the past two years, “and the metro always over-estimates my bill”.
“Then comes the higher bill every three or four months, and I still have to pay in. The metro has no mercy – they cut one’s electricity and refuse to assist unless one first pays.
“And I am talking about ridiculous amounts of thousands of rands, without a proper breakdown of the account.”
Other residents took to social media to complain on this matter.
However, according to alderman Peter Sutton, Tshwane MMC Finance, the municipal systems act stipulates that consumption may indeed be estimated.
“This can be done for a period not exceeding 12 months and must be corrected with an actual reading at the first opportunity,” he told Rekord.
“The correction is done by removing all estimations and then levying the actual reading with the current actual reading compared to the previous or last actual reading before estimation of consumption.
“Residents can request a breakdown of their bills through customercare@tshwane.gov.za or through the call centre at 012 358 9999 or by visiting a walk-in centre.
“The client can also register on the e-Tshwane app where they can receive statements via email and see a history of accounts.”
Sutton said it was unfortunately not a simple issue.
“Firstly, if a query is raised on electricity or water, the query has to be resolved first and it will not be fair to activate credit control without the query being resolved.
“But it is important to understand that the query is on a specific service like water or electricity and not on the bill in entirety.
“This means that if a query is raised for example on electricity, all other services are still payable for, such as rates and taxes, sanitation, waste and water.”
Sutton said if any of the other services are not paid, credit control will be applied irrespective of the query on the electricity in this example.
“As part of registering the query and obtaining a reference number, the relevant consultant will advise the client on how the specific query must be dealt with.
“This is why a reference number is so critical as part of the process and why consultants will mostly place a 30-day block on the service in query to avoid a credit control activated,” he said.
“There is no such thing as an account in dispute or an account under query. Only a specific service on the account can be in query or in dispute.”
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He said in accordance with section 104 the minister may make regulations or issue guidelines in accordance with section 120 to provide for or regulate the following matters:
– the particulars that must be contained in the municipal manager’s report in terms of section 100(c);
– the identification of municipal services provided by the municipality or other service providers to users of services where the use of the service by the user can reasonably be determined, measured or estimated per quantity used or per frequency of such use;
– the determination, measurement or estimate of the use by each user of each service so identified.
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