Does a prepaid meter actually save money?

[thestaggy]

http://www.efergy.co.za/pages/860093...ails.asp?uID=2

Shows you realtime (updated every 6 seconds) what your power draw is. Very good for creating awareness etc, and for understanding the impact of appliances/heaters etc. It also gives you average consumption, monthly consumption etc as a sanity check for the bill...

Dang, that looks pretty handy.

[Sinbad]

Have you made your R900 back?

I think so, yes.

[thestaggy]

the rate per unit for prepaid is more then post paid, the savings that people see comes in as you mentioned they become el cheapo, you dont pay the meter reading fee and you actualy pay for what you use and not the guestimates that you normaly pay - most of the time the estimates are really high thats why people seem to save when moving to pre paid

Very true.

[Sinbad]

Very true.

But then when they finally read the meter, they recalculate everything and if your estimate is higher than your actual, you get a refund.
The times I've had an estimated reading it's been half of the real reading ...

[thestaggy]

http://www.efergy.co.za/pages/860093...ails.asp?uID=2

They've actually got quite a few handy products there. There's one that helps you control your showertime.

[Fudzy]

But then when they finally read the meter, they recalculate everything and if your estimate is higher than your actual, you get a refund.
The times I've had an estimated reading it's been half of the real reading ...

Can't you phone in your meter reading?

[Fudzy]

They've actually got quite a few handy products there. There's one that helps you control your showertime.

They sell fleshlights?!?

[thestaggy]

But then when they finally read the meter, they recalculate everything and if your estimate is higher than your actual, you get a refund.
The times I've had an estimated reading it's been half of the real reading ...

Suppose you're right there, but it's still that moment of inconvenience/irritation.

I must say, you've been lucky. All of our estimates towards the end were ludicrous. The last month was twice the amount we were billed for during the previous month. That's what got us to change.

[thestaggy]

They sell fleshlights?!?

*ahem* . . . I don't know what you mean by that.

[noxibox]

I never really expected to save using a prepaid meter. It simply allows more immediate knowledge of how much is being used. In Cape Town, at least if you get from the city, the units cost the same.

[thestaggy]

I never really expected to save using a prepaid meter. It simply allows more immediate knowledge of how much is being used. In Cape Town, at least if you get from the city, the units cost the same.

Cost per unit is not influenced by usage?

[Humberto]

I paid R 600 for an electricity voucher today of which only R 469.83 was used for actual electricity (434.2 kWh). The rest is VAT and a service charge.

I use about 20 kWh of electricity per day. I am one person living alone.

[Fudzy]

I paid R 600 for an electricity voucher today of which only R 469.83 was used for actual electricity (434.2 kWh). The rest is VAT and a service charge.

I use about 20 kWh of electricity per day. I am one person living alone.

Huh? VAT can't be charged over and above the amount? How much is the service charge?

[joelus]

AFAIK, Prepaid and postpaid cost the same, price differences are based on usage patterns...

[beans100]

Not 100% sure off-hand, will have to double-check that. It's definitely over R1. R200 buys us less than 190 units.

It depends on what time of the month you buy. If you buy R200 on the 1st of every month, you'll get about 230 units. Buy R200 at the end of the month and get 190 units. It also differs according to your usage. So buying R1000 on the first will maybe get you more now, but will put you on another level next month. I understand that it also depends on where you buy. Some places will add more profit. Apparently the area you live in affects it too.

I paid R 600 for an electricity voucher today of which only R 469.83 was used for actual electricity (434.2 kWh). The rest is VAT and a service charge.

I use about 20 kWh of electricity per day. I am one person living alone.

Should've waited 3 more days.