Missing units on prepaid meter after loadshedding slot?

Pho3nix

The Legend
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Jul 31, 2009
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30,589
Not on prepaid but some friends mentioned this a couple days ago and saw a post on the area FB group.
 

supersunbird

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Oct 1, 2005
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60,141
Hi All

Anybody found that they have missing units on their prepaid meters after a scheduled loadshedding slot?
So you were watching the unit reading when power went bye bye and when it came back?

Unless the above, all the things recharging and geyser and fridges and more could use easily use some units I'd suspect.
 

TheViewGuy_SA

New Member
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Jul 16, 2022
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1
I had 28 units last night. This morning only 0.35 remaining. My wife suspected this a week ago already. Will keep on monitoring this as I do beleive prepaid meters are loosing units.

Just dont know how or where to report this to...
 

TedLasso

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Feb 23, 2016
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I had 28 units last night. This morning only 0.35 remaining. My wife suspected this a week ago already. Will keep on monitoring this as I do beleive prepaid meters are loosing units.

Just dont know how or where to report this to...
I have to disagree. So after you took the reading of 28 units, did you cut off ALL electricity to the dwelling and then when you turned on today it shows 0.35?

If the House was running after you took your reading, then it has to be something in ur house eating the electricity or perhaps you could even have someone e.g . A neighbour stealing some of your electricity.

Based on my own experience that these prepaids are pretty precise.
 

access

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Mar 17, 2009
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i forgot about this! i could swear i noticed this once and said i would watch the meter, but completely forgot to do it..


another thing, the activity light on the electric meter is an indication of how much is being used, faster means more and slower means less. right.

most things are off if im not home, except for screens on standby and the fridge, the geyser is always off at the db because we have an indirect solar heated geyser. so when i got home the electricity meter which is right next to the front door, had its activity light flickering like a disco light for a few seconds then it slowed down to almost dead again. i phoned around to ask why it would do that and everyone said "you must have had something running", but that was definitely not the case. and even if i put every single thing on in the apartment it would not flicker that fast. it was weird.
 

SauRoNZA

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Jul 6, 2010
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Only way to measure this would be to take the reading exactly at the moment power goes off.

Then turn off your mains and be there when the power comes back on.
 

TheChamp

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Feb 26, 2011
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I am leaning more towards the theory of one person starting a rumour and everyone suddenly seeing things or having flashbacks of things they have seen and everything now coming together.
 

Snyper564

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Oct 1, 2008
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If anything the inside unit likely didnt "sync" with the outside unit...
 

Geoff.D

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Aug 4, 2005
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Much more careful and accurate observation is required to prove this one.

Like being there when the power is cut to be able to know exactly what the reading was when the power cut. Then switching off absolutely everything (i.e) cut the mains isolator (after the meter) in your DB, then being there when the power returns, so that you can see what the reading is and then compare the two.

And then remember that when the power comes back (depending on how long the cut was, plus how hot the weather is), all your fridges and freezers are going to work overtime getting back down to the correct temperatures. Not forgetting that your geyser WILL also kick in and make up for lost heating.

Hence why this whole crap about load shedding (for domestic users), is nothing but "load shifting".
 
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