By Loushe Jordaan Gilbert
Over the coming months, the City of Cape Town said it will keep installing new, more intelligent, and practical power meters.
Older credit and prepaid meters controlled by the city must be replaced to prevent false readings and provide homeowners more control over how much energy they use.
Speaking to VOC Breakfast on Thursday Xanthea Limberg, Mayoral Committee Member of Energy said the programme is compulsory and free-of-charge.
“Our appointed contractor is replacing older electricity credit meters and phasing in brand new prepaid meters in City-supplied suburbs across the Metro. When an area is due for the replacement, we will deliver a letter to the customer’s home to arrange an appointment. Once an appointment has been made and the contractor reaches out to the customer, they may verify the supplied reference number by contacting the city’s call centre on 0860 103 089.”
Speaking to VOC News, residents shared their frustrations around the high cost of electricity, claiming the new meters may have several financial implications.
“I have a new meter that I recently had installed by the city, and it is costing me so much money. The price of electricity is so expensive, and we are only two people in the house. I use a gas stove and do not even have a geyser, yet my units do not last,” an irate resident shared.
“I still have an old meter box and even I feel the pressure of having to spend more on electricity in recent months. I do not understand why the cost of electricity is so expensive,” another resident stated.
“The installation of a new meter box to me seems like another tactic that they are using to have us pay more for things. I keep hearing people say that the city said their meter boxes have been tampered with, yet it’s the very same city implementing these meter boxes,” an elderly female added.
Limberg stressed that the new meter roll-out would benefit residents, guaranteeing that it will not add extra financial pressure on consumers.
“There is no difference in the cost of electricity between the old credit meter and the new prepaid meters. The new meters are merely a measuring mechanism. The newer meters help with cost management, accuracy of readings, usage control and monitoring. It also enables qualifying beneficiaries to move to the highly subsidised, affordable Lifeline Tariff which includes Free Basic Electricity (FBE). We encourage residents to reach out to us to make the switch,” she added.
Image: Pixels
