Organised business supports a settlement and a return of smart meters as a win/win scenario for both ELM revenue generation and residents/businesses, who now suffer unpredictable and vastly inflated account estimates by the municipality.
The completion of the preliminary report was confirmed on Monday by acting Municipal Manager Thabo Ndlovu.
The report is also expected to address the issue of how any possible settlement with BXCSA could be structured with specific emphasis on restoring the massive revenue stream lost due to the arbitrary cancellation of the smart meter project in mid-2019.
Lost revenue according to independent experts as a result of the smart meter contract termination debacle now stands at over R500 million and counting. Ndlovu did not elaborate on the contents of the report which he said was compiled by an independent firm of attorneys.
ELM Executive Mayor Gift Moerane is known to have been mandated by ELM Council to explore how a settlement with BXCSA can be structured and this will also be included in a report to council.
Golden Triangle Chamber of Commerce (GTCoC) CEO Klippies Kritzinger said ELM had been extremely negligent and incompetent in ending the smart meter contract, acknowledged as the best of its kind in Gauteng.
