If you think, or know that your electricity meter has been tampered with, you could avoid paying around R11 230 if you let City Power know about it before 30 June.
The electricity utility has been auditing meters across the City since mid-April and is now offering customers amnesty, for free.
“This presents such a golden opportunity to rectify wrongdoing, no questions asked, then resume normal purchasing of electricity,” Nico de Jager, MMC for Environment and Infrastructure Services said.
The MMC also warned that if residents are found with tampered meters after this date and they have not registered it with City Power, their meters will be removed and criminal charges will be brought against them.
According to De Jager meter tampering is constituted by any action resulting in the breaking of a seal, the opening, adjustment or removal of a meter, bypassing a meter, opening of a meter box or interfering with the meter or municipal wiring, piping or other installations in any manner.
If you are affected, you can register your meter at City Power’s head office at 40 Heronmere Road in Reuven, Booysens or at your nearest customer service centre.
“Once this is done, City Power technicians will then come out to normalise the meter free of charge,” De Jager added.
To register for amnesty you must take the following documents:
- City of Johannesburg rates and taxes statement not older than three months
- Copy of green bar-coded identity document
- Stand number
- Meter number.
Although 32,5 per cent of the City’s main revenue comes from electricity, De Jager earlier this year said he feared a diminishing rates base and that it was threatening cross-subsidising – an essential component in delivering equal basic services.
The City plans to spend, under the new budget introduced by Executive Mayor Herman Mashaba, 32,1 per cent of its revenue on bulk purchases like water and electricity and about R10 billion a year on addressing the R170-billion infrastructure backlog.
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