This month, the residents of the Ekurhuleni Metro were in for a shock when they received their utility bills because for months the Metro failed to indicate their actual power consumption on their statements of account. The Metro relied, instead, on estimated electricity readings.
It is unfair to expect residents to pay massive, unexpected and backdated bills, which they simply cannot afford.
According to a financial report recently tabled to the Council, only R21,9 billion of the budgeted R26,1 billion in electricity revenue has been collected, resulting in a shortfall of R4,13 billion. The Metro indicated it will attempt to recover R725 million of the outstanding amount as quickly as possible.
The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) suspects that these bills, which reflect actual electricity consumption, are an attempt by the Metro to recover this amount.
Increased electricity tariffs took effect on 1 July, meaning consumers must not only absorb the correction of estimated bills, but also a tariff increase of an approximately 11,32%.
If the Metro’s officials had done their jobs properly, residents would not have paid incorrect amounts for electricity consumption for months on end.
The party proposes that the payment of these bills should be distributed over a period of three months to ease the burden on consumers.
The report also indicates that illegal electricity connections and sabotage result in power losses amounting to millions, while the Metro is failing to effectively combat this type of crime.
The party warned the Metro not to shift the cost of the illegal electricity consumption onto consumers’ shoulders.
The Freedom Front Plus requests the following from the Metro:
• Absolute transparency regarding the full extent of the back-billing and the affected households.
• Immediate implementation of an action plan to address non-technical losses (illegal connections and sabotage).
• An independent audit to determine the reliability of the Metro’s electricity meters and reading processes.
• Stop penalising consumers for mismanagement and hold officials accountable.
The Freedom Front Plus urges residents to:
• Immediately dispute their bills indicating excessive backdated amounts.
• Lodge written complaints with the Municipality and demand a reference number.
• Retain proof of previous payments or readings to protect themselves against unlawful collections.
• Report the issue to the City Ombudsman and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) if it cannot be resolved.
The Freedom Front Plus will keep shining the spotlight on these malpractices to ensure that the community’s rights are protected.
