VEREENIGING – On May 8, irate Ward 15 residents barricaded the Emfuleni Local Municipali-ty (ELM) electrical department gate due to a power outage.

As winter looms, residents say they are desperate for a long-lasting solution to current electricity challenges after they were left in the dark for five days.

Ward 15 Councillor Prudence Hlanyane says residents are frustrated by the current system for logging electrical faults with the ELM control room.

Hlanyane wrote a letter to ELM’s management in April detailing that residents have faulty meters and are unable to buy electricity.

In the letter, Hlanyane expressed a strong objection as the process requires verification of a customer’s electrical purchases prior to attending to the fault.
Hlanyane believes the process was not properly communicated to ward councillors and customers on time.

“I have previously submitted a list of customers in Vereeniging who have challenges with their meters. Despite this, these meters have not been replaced, and customers still can’t purchase electricity.”

Hlanyane says she has been requesting an audit and metering process for Stanley Avenue.

“When customers visit control room offices as per the new instructions, they are penalised, but their meters don’t get fixed.”

Hlanyane says she is in full support of people paying for electricity consumption.

“I request that this decision be reversed until all faulty meters are replaced in Ward 15. Alternatively, the ELM can exempt everyone on the list from this new process.”

ELM’s Media Relations Acting Assistant Manager Chuchi Radebe says, “The municipality is in possession of the complaint letter from the Ward 15 councillor and currently engaging relevant departments for an extensive investigation into the matter.

Radebe said a detailed communication for resolving all impasses related to electricity metering, billing and penalties will be issued soon.

“Consumers with bypassed meters and faulty connections must be on the lookout for the up-date likely to resolve their electricity challenges. We want to take this opportunity to apologise to affected consumers for the delayed communication on this matter and sustained power cuts.”
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