A RETIRED couple have been left in shock after receiving an electricity bill more than twice their normal rate.
Terry (62) and Norma (77) Stark, who reside in Carrington Heights, received hefty electricity bills of R4854 and R3603 for September and October respectively.
The couple, who live alone in a small house, which they have been in for over 16 years, said they cannot understand why their bills would be so high.
The Stark’s keep a neat record of their municipal bills, which they showed to the Berea Mail.
For the whole of last year and this year, the Stark’s electricity bill has never been above R1800 a month.
“I switch on my geyser for only 8-hours a day before turning it off and there’s not much else that takes up our electricity,” said Norma.
Norma and Stark are both retired and rely on government pensions to cover their overhead costs.
Scared of the possibility of having their electricity disconnected, they paid their September bill with the help of their children in Cape Town.
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They were only able to pay a fraction of their October bill resulting in the city putting them on an installment plan of R655 per month for four months (in addition to their monthly bill).
“There is no way we can afford this, we have emailed our readings to the city and called the city but no one is helping. We can’t understand the bill is so high,” said Terry.
During an executive council meeting two weeks back, eThekwini Mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda made reference to the fact that a lot of residents were complaining of receiving higher than normal bills.
When it comes to electricity readings, the city employs a determination system.
Readings are only done once every three months and the rest of the two months, the bill is calculated through a determination system.
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With the lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the city is facing a huge backlog of readings.
Both of the Stark’s bills for September and October are marked “not read” meaning they were based on a determination.
eThekwini Municipality told Berea Mail they do not discuss customer accounts with third parties.
The Human Settlements Unit is expected to present a report to exco very soon on the progress of both water and meter readings.
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