Municipality warns against buying electricity from ghost vendors
Last year, the Polokwane Review-Observer reported on ghost vendors and how those who have purchased from them are liable for heavy penalties.
POLOKWANE – The Polokwane Municipality is warning residents not to buy electricity from ghost vendors.
Municipal spokesperson Thipa Selala said they are aware of fraudulent and discounted prepaid electricity units offered on social media by scammers which offer more electricity units at a discounted rate.
“All customers are warned that only units purchased through approved vendors would be accepted by municipal prepaid meters. It is also worth noting that electricity tariffs are determined by Nersa. Any units purchased outside municipal supply group code (SGC) will not work on municipal meters and as a result, customers will lose their money,” Selala’s statement read.
Last year, the Polokwane Review-Observer reported on ghost vendors and how those who have purchased from them are liable for heavy penalties.
At the time, the customer relations manager for Eskom in the Capricorn and Waterberg districts, Matshidiso Phaladi said criminals now have access to their meters and can successfully allocate tokens – at the expense of Eskom.
“When we do our audits, we can track that a customer’s purchases don’t correlate with the number of units on their meters. We then know these customers purchased from ghost vendors, and then we disconnect their services. We charge a remedial fee of R6 000 to reconnect these customers,” she explained and added that the fee is double if someone who has previously had to pay this fee, is found guilty again.
Read more: Eskom in Polokwane warns against ‘ghost vendors’
Selala said approved electricity tariffs can be accessed from the municipal website and urged customers to report any suspicious activity to law enforcement agencies, the Polokwane Municipality’s By-Law Enforcement office on 015 290 2484 or the Capricorn District anti-fraud hotline at 0800 20 50 53.
