Eskom prepaid meter installers barred from entering parts of Soweto

Eskom has had to switch off electricity to parts of Dlamini, Soweto, as the community is denying employees access to the area to install prepaid split meters.

In a statement released on Friday, Eskom said community leaders and members of Dlamini had been engaged on the prepaid meter project implementation ahead of time.

However, when Eskom was supposed to resume work, the community prevented them from doing so on Thursday.
 
“Eskom is in the process of installing prepaid split meters throughout the Gauteng province following the low payment trends that affect its revenue”, said Gauteng Maintenance and Operations Senior Manager Mashangu Xivambu.

The installation of prepaid split meters is to help customers manage their own electricity consumption.

ALSO READ: Eskom says City of Tshwane owes it R635m

Eskom reports that electricity supply will not be restored until they receive confirmation that the community is ready to allow the workers to access the area safely and resume with the implementation of prepaid split meters

“It is important for Eskom to be certain that it can guarantee the safety of its employees before it can dispatch  them to resume with operations”, said Xivambu.

Consumers should not have to pay for Eskom’s mess

Eskom is reported to completely underestimated the consequential damage of its bungling of the Medupi and Kusile power station projects, the Association of South African Chambers (Asac) said in its written submission about the utility’s application for a tariff increase of 20% from April 1 earlier this month.

Eskom expects consumers to pay for the long-term damage.

According to energy regulator Nersa, the increase could be as high as 40% if amounts clawed back in relation to previous years and court orders are included.

Asac is one of several stakeholders expected to make presentations on Monday (January 17), the first day of energy regulator Nersa’s public hearings about the application.

Nersa will make a final determination on Eskom’s tariffs in February.

According to Asac, Eskom has treated the failure to deliver its Medupi and Kusile power stations on time, within budget and operating properly as a “done deal”, and expects the consumer to pay for all the consequential damage this failure has caused through sky-high electricity tariffs.

ALSO READ: City of Tshwane rejects proposed Eskom tariff increase

Compiled by Lethabo Malatsi. Additional reporting by Moneyweb