ALL public schools in eThekwini will soon have pre-paid electricity meters in place. The announcement was made by eThekwini Municipality last week as it is currently rolling out pre-paid meters to schools in an effort to assist the Department of Education to convert all schools in eThekwini from postpaid to pre-paid metering.
While the programme is currently focusing on schools in debt, it is available to all public schools irrespective of debt status.
According to eThekwini Municipality, of the 1 000 schools that are supplied electricity by the municipality, 66 have applied for pre-paid metering.
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Mayor of eThekwini Municipality Cyril Xaba, said that the initiative forms part of the city’s debt reduction strategy.
“As the leadership of the city, we have made a commitment to improve revenue collection so that we are able to deliver quality services. At the same time, we must assist customers who have challenges, but who are willing to pay for services, because a happy customer is a paying customer,” said Xaba.
Currently, more than 120 000 smart meters have been installed. In line with the electricity turnaround strategy, a further 150 000 electricity smart meters will be rolled out over the next five years. Meanwhile, water smart meters are still at procurement stage.
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