Residents claim they were not informed of City’s plan pre-paid meter installation
Ward 57 councillor David Farquharson told Rekord that residents were informed, rather than consulted, about the roll-out as far back as 2014/15.
Residents of Lyttelton have claimed that the Tshwane metro ambushed them with the roll-out of prepaid electricity meters in the area.
A resident who spoke to Rekord, Khosi Prodence said it was unfortunate that the metro would just take such a decision on her behalf without even checking with her first.
“It is very strange for the City to just decide they are going to come inside my house and install their boxes in my house without notifying me. I am honestly okay with my conventional electricity, this thing of prepaid would disadvantage me, what if I run out of units before month’s end?” she said.
However, former MMC Phillip Nel previously told Rekord the metro was obligated to change the current boxes to prepaid as it was law.
“The City of Tshwane is required by its by-laws and national legislation to install smart prepaid meters to its entire customer base. Apart from the legal requirement, it is important as part of the move to a smart energy/electricity grid, which will allow the City to respond far more effectively to electricity issues and also make it easier for residents to manage their electricity usage and payment,” Nel added.
He said the metro would install more than 24 000 meters this financial year.
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“These will not be replacing bulk meters or existing prepaid devices. If you are included in the current phase of the roll-out and you are not home to receive the installation you will receive a notification requesting that you call the numbers provided to arrange a suitable time within one week of receiving the notice for the installation. Kindly address any specific queries with the installation team.”
Meanwhile, ward 57 councillor David Farquharson told Rekord that residents were informed, rather than consulted, about the roll-out as far back as 2014/15.
Farquharson said the decision to install the meter was a directive of the court from when residents had taken the City to court over prepaid meters.
“The prepaid meter roll-out is court-ordered. Enough people were unhappy with the current system and sued the City for a change in the meter reading system. The auditor general reports have also raised the problems of an archaic manual meter reading process.”
The councillor emphasised that the City played its role in informing the residents of its intention of installing prepaid meters
“The City has run various advertising campaigns over the years to inform residents that the change is coming,” he added.
Farquharson revealed that the decision to install prepaid meters received mixed reactions from residents as some felt that the old system should not be replaced while others said it was a good move to solve the many challenges of billing.
“We received very mixed reactions. Some residents applied for the prepaid meters ahead of the roll-out because of the problems with the existing system. Some people feel that a system from the middle of the last century should not be updated.
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“When a new prepaid meter is to be installed, the resident will get a letter from the contractor setting up an appointment to install the meter.”
Utility services MMC Daryl Johnston said the installations were compulsory and per the Tshwane metro’s standard electricity supply by-laws.
The by-law states that “the supply, distribution, and reticulation of electricity by the municipality to all consumers shall be on a smart pre-payment basis as metered and paid for using a smart pre-payment meter system”.
In 2021, Tshwane said it planned to convert about 162 000 households from post-paid to pre-paid meters by 2023.
This was a move to boost the revenue collection.
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