Local resident Riaan Labuschagne was puzzled by the number of questions asked by City Power officials when logging a call.
When calling City Power to log an outage at 4.30am on 25 July, Riaan was asked to provide his City Power account number. As he was unable to find the number in the early hours of the morning, he was asked for his ID number. Riaan did not understand why City Power needed this information when he had given them his address.
“I have spoken to the ward councillor and city power managers but no one has been able to explain to me why I should give them this information,” said Riaan, who wondered if the requirements to log a call had changed.
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City Power prefers residents to log faults and other issues on the City Power app or website. City Power spokesperson, Virgil James, explained that before a person can log a call on the fault logging system on the City Power website, residents have to register their profile on the City Power fault logging page. Once registered, a person can log a call using their password.
When a person registers the following details are required:
- Mobile number
- Password
- Customer name and surname
- Customer type
- Physical address
- Account number
- Meter number
Although an individual’s account number and meter number are requirements, they are not mandatory. This allows people who are not City Power customers to log a call to City Power if they are affected by an outage in a City Power area where they might be working.
According to Virgil, a person’s ID number is not a requirement when one logs a call. “However, it is possible the customer was asked to provide an ID number so that his other details such as meter number, account number and physical address could be accessed if, for an example, the particular customer was being assisted by a City Power employee,” said Virgil.
It is probable the City Power call centre employee asked for these details to access Riaan’s profile or ascertain whether or not Riaan was registered on the City Power website.
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