For the past years they have been paying the electricity ‘estimated’ bill and in March this year they decided to have a pre-paid meter installed. They thought this would be a smooth transition but they are now frustrated as they are now paying double, the ‘estimated electricity bill’ and pre-paid.
“We were told that after three months there won’t be any estimation and the City will stop billing us on electricity as we now have pre-paid. They still bill us and we are afraid if we don’t pay they will cut our power. We’ve been to City Power offices back and forth and there seems to be no solution. So why are we paying double?” asked the Moodleys.
Clr Dennis Jane tried to answer the Moodleys questions. “The simple answer to this question is, the electricity bill is for the month following the installation of the prepaid meter. Accounts are usually approximately one month in arrears for electricity usage. What would be advisable is for the resident to note (or take a picture of) the meter reading of the old meter on the day the prepaid meter is installed. The contractor should note the old meter reading on the job card of the prepaid meter on installation.
“Billing department then reconciles the electricity account taking the final reading into account. Once this amount is paid, electricity charges should no longer appear on the account/s received from the City. While this is the theory, in practice it does not always happen. I suspect the failure of the system to work properly is what prompted the enquiry,” explained Clr Dennis Jane.
To schedule a conversion to a prepaid meter:
Contact City Power 011 490 7484 between 07:00 and 19:00 (Monday to Friday) and 08:00 to 13:00 on Saturdays; or send a free SMS: “prepaid” followed by your account number and address to 44074.
City Power customer care consultants will call you to confirm the appointment.
