Local homeowner frustrated with ‘difficult’ electricity meter

A homeowner describes his difficulty with connecting power to his property.

JP Joubert, a homeowner explained since they bought a house intending to rent it out, they have had difficulty connecting power. He said it all started when the tenant asked to have prepaid power installed. After continuous back and forth they eventually paid for the meter as well as the deposit and on July 1 they eventually had the meter installed, however, they were unable to load power onto it. He tried contacting City Power (CP), but couldn’t get hold of anyone.

On July 2 they got hold of a subcontractor from CP who informed them he was in Rustenburg, but if they paid his petrol money he would come through and bypass the meter, which he stated he needed to clear with management before bypassing.

Isaac Mangena, spokesperson for CP stated: “City Power does not allow for electricity meters to be bypassed by a contractor and our technicians. If customers are aware of this being done, we urge them to assist by reporting this to City Power Security Control on 060 756 9594.”

Joubert continued that two weeks later a CP official came to do an audit and one hour later the tenant confirmed that the meter had been removed. Joubert stated theft is a large concern in the area and he assumed that is what happened to the meter. Joubert advised the tenant to open a case with the police. Sometime after this, they received a disconnection notice from CP stating their connection was illegal, which is why they removed the meter.

“With regards to pre-paid metering, City Power does not issue disconnection notices. If or when we find tampering on the meter or any illegal connections during audits or related work we perform on our network, then a disconnection is issued immediately. In such matters, the affected customer is advised to visit our offices to query their issues and to honour applicable penalties before they can be reconnected,” said Mangena.

He continued to say he was informed that tenants are not allowed to lock meter boxes, however, due to the high crime rate in the area, Jourbert’s tenant did.

Mangena stated, “If the meter is outside the property, the customer is allowed to lock it provided they made arrangements with our Risk and Security Services, and they leave contact details should City Power require access.”

The problem however remained; Joubert’s tenant was still without power. Eventually, he had to hire a third party to do the installation for the meter, as he could not leave his tenant without power who had little children in the house.

On the question of whether CP allows third parties to fix meter issues, Mangena replied: “City Power appoints qualified subcontractors to work on our metering network. These subcontractors have personalised cards issued by City Power that act as their physical identification.”

On August 28, Joubert said he had a meeting with CP in which they came to an agreement regarding his outstanding fine after he made some noise.