By Loushe Jordaan Gilbert
Lavender Hill residents are demanding the City of Cape Town (COCT) to remove the recently installed electricity meter boxes due to claims of electricity costs increasing since the installation.
Speaking to VOC Breakfast on Wednesday Mark Schrikker, a representative of the 021-community action group said locals are unable to keep up with the rising cost of electricity.
“Residents of Lavender Hill, and several other areas like Hanover Park and Mitchells Plain all feel that post the implementation of these meter boxes, their electricity costs have soared. Just yesterday a single mom approached me saying that she cannot keep up with the electricity costs. Our cost per unit almost doubled since the implementation of the new meter boxes, with many pensioners using all their grant monies to keep the lights on. In many areas it has become a case of choosing between buying food or electricity,” he added.
Schrikker further said they have spoken to several key role players to get to the root of the problem.
“We have several conversations with the city. The first meeting was not successful as the city representative could not make a decision without consulting those in power. The second sit down was with the Mayoral Committee Member for Energy Xanthea Limberg. We all agreed that the COCT would provide feedback later today, so we will see how that goes,” he explained.
Schrikker further said the MEC for Energy confirmed that more than 12 000-meter boxes have been tampered with, however, the city could not provide an accurate explanation as to what tampering was.
“Twelve thousand tampering cases across the Western Cape, but what about the others that steal electricity daily. We are not saying that tampering with meter boxes is right, but what we are saying is that the city and their teams are fair and check across the entire metro and bring those who are responsible for this to book. The community is frustrated, we want answers, and we want answers soon,” he stressed.
Mark advised anyone who has experienced similar issues to reach out to him on 062 377 2027 as they are engaging with several communities to ensure that the issue gets addressed as soon as possible.
Image: Supplied
