This follows an inquiry by the Advertiser, after the metro cut off David Francis’s electricity.
Francis’s argument was that the metro should consider that he has been paying on time for the past 19 years.
He said his electricity was cut off even though he had paid.
He went to the Customer Care Centre (CCC) and was told to pay a reconnection fee.
Francis said he was advised by the officer that the electricity payment is due on the 22nd of every month.
He wanted to know how those earning their salaries after the said date will be able meet the metro’s demand.
Responding to our enquiry, metro spokesperson Themba Gadebe said the metro does not consider a resident’s previous record when it comes to cutting off electricity for non-payment.
“If an account is in arrears after the applicable due date a final notice will be rendered and, in cases of failure to respond to the final notice, the disconnection of electricity supply will be effected,” he explained.
“The payment record of the client in question was also scrutinised, and it was noticed that on many occasions, the account was paid after the applicable due date of the 25th.
“It should be noted that the due date to pay accounts is the 25th of each month and not the 22nd.
“These due dates were set metro-wide in 2007 (finalised in June 2007), to re-align meter reading, billing, and account due dates.
“The reason for this re-alignment was historical imbalances in workload, increased residential developments and increased meter reading volumes.
“These due dates used to be much earlier in the month.
“If, for instance, the client receives his/her salary after the applicable due date, the client must utilise a portion of that salary to pay the account which becomes due and payable on the 25th of the following month.
“In this matter, the salary that was received by the client at the end of December 2014, should have been utilised by the client to pay the amount due and payable on or before January 25, 2015, almost a month later.
Regarding the case of Francis, Gadebe said the client owed an amount of R2 585 which was due and payable on or before January 25.
“The client paid the account on January 29, the same day that the electricity was disconnected,” he added.
