The roll-out of smart meters is still underway in Johannesburg and City Power is encouraging residents to open their doors to new technology.
Due to an increase in customer queries, City Power is reminding residents that the utility is continuing with replacing older meters with smart meters. City Power officials could request access to your property to read your meter as part of this project.
“The utility is continuing with efforts to replace inaccessible, bridged or bypassed by customers as well as those meters that are considered to be faulty or old with the smart meters for the purposes of improving billing accuracy, updating customer details and providing real-time readings,” City Power’s Hloni Motloung said.
Motloung added that the old mechanical meters are replaced because they do not have the benefits of the more technological advanced smart meters. “Meter reading in areas where City Power does not have a smart meter footprint is critical to ensuring consumers who use conventional electricity are billed for actual electricity consumed,” he said.
Anthony Still, MMC of Environment and Infrastructure Services said the City of Johannesburg is committed to ending billing estimates and advised residents to expect visits from City Power’s meter installation or audit teams. “Customer safety is a priority for the City, so we also encourage homeowners to verify City Power technicians and contractor officials first by checking their uniforms and their ID cards before allowing any individual onto their property,” Still said.
City Power also encouraged customers to check the technicians and contractors’ cards, which according to the entity, they are required to carry at all times when they are on duty. If you are unsure, you can verify the credentials of the technicians by calling City Power’s Risk Control Department on 011 490 7900/7911/7553.
Motloung said should customers who willfully hinder, obstruct or interfere with any authorised representative of City Power in the performance of any duties after verifying their credentials, including but not limited to meter reading, they will be guilty of an offence.
Did you know?
In terms of Section 23(1) of the Electricity Act 41 of 1987, read with Section 101 of the Local Government Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000 as well as Section 33(1) of the Electricity By-Laws that, “Any person authorised thereto in writing by an undertaker may at all times enter any premises to which electricity has been supplied by such undertaker, in order to inspect the lines, meters, fittings, works and apparatus belonging to such undertaker or for the purpose of ascertaining the quantity of the electricity consumed, or where a supply is no longer required, or where such undertaker may cut off the supply for the purpose of removing any line, meters, fittings, works and apparatus belonging to such undertaker.”
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