Joburg mayor says meter reading, bill glitches are being fixed

1) We have had little joy when it comes to our electricity bill in the City of Johannesburg. Since June last year our account has been incorrect. The bill shot up to R50 000 at one stage. We have three-phase power and all three meter readings – which COJ claims to be “actual” readings – are way off the mark. We were also issued two final notices despite querying the incorrect bill, threatening to cut off our power. This was added to our bill, along with interest, even though it is no fault of our own. We have been into their offices on more than one occasion, yet still no joy. What must we do? Natalie, Randburg

• Over-reading of meters has been corrected and the account normalised.
• The City of Johannesburg can confirm that the resident’s account has finally been corrected after the difficulties. The account now will be billed on a correct actual reading.
• There are various reasons that could lead to the incorrect readings and these could include:
• Faulty meters or other technical faults;
• High estimations which are system generated; and
• Incorrectly capturing of readings by an agent.
• Over the years, the city has experienced extensive and long standing challenges with respect to the billing system.
• Nevertheless, we are committed to reversing this so as to positively impact on our residents’ experience of service delivery.
• This is the change residents of the city voted for and that is what we are determined to progressively deliver on.
• This said, the city also faces challenges with respect to meter readers being unable to access residents’ properties in order to read meters and obtain the actual readings. As an alternative, customers can take a photo of their own readings with a visible date and meter number and submit them online to: estimations@citypower.co.za

2) Dear Mr Mayor,Why can street lights not be repaired within a reasonable period? I reported a faulty street light on February 2, 2017. Approximately one month later I received an SMS to say that the problem had been resolved. Roy Oberholzer, Ferndale Ridge.

• The city is aware that numerous streetlights experience downtime due to factors such as lack of maintenance during the past, theft of copper cables and ageing infrastructure.
• We are in the process of tending to this problem, and we appreciate and need the assistance of residents to inform us of where the faulty lights are located for us to dispatch a technician timeously.
• In this particular case, City Power has dispatched a technician to attend to the problem.
• For any further questions on this particular matter, please contact Sydney Mphalele or Lorraine van Tonder at: smphahlele@citypower.co.za, 063-319-7759, 011-490-7627; lvantoder@citypower.co.za, 011-490-7302

3) Dear Sir,I am a permanent resident in South Africa (since 1988) but travel on a Swiss passport. My husband and I married in 2004 and when I went to get my passport renewed in 2015 I was informed that I needed an unabridged marriage certificate. I applied for this on June 11, 2015 at the Edenvale Home Affairs office. I was told it would take 6 to 8 weeks to be issued but to date have received nothing. Jennifer Charbonnier

•  The matter described is unusual in that, considering when the application was filed, the matter should have been resolved by now. The Department of Home Affairs should be able to advise on the status of the application.
• The city’s migrant help desk attempted to assist Ms Charbonier by contacting the Department of Home Affairs but was denied access to any information regarding the matter due to confidentiality concerns.
• Our migrant help desk would only be able to assist if we were furnished with a power of attorney by Ms Charbonier.
• Therefore, presently, we cannot provide any further assistance. v However, we will be in contact with Ms Charbonnier to advise her on other courses of action that are available to her and will endeavour to help her sort out this problem.

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