Good day all,
I have recently (4 months ago) moved into a property. I have since registered with Eskom, and started to get bills.
These bills have estimates which result in bills of up to 17k per month!
I have been submitting my meter readings for over 3 months now, and I keep getting estimates rather than them using the readings I supply.
I assume on some level that my estimates must seem 'too low' to them; I imagine them thinking: "This guy is lying about his readings", or "He's tampered with his meter somehow". Neither of these are true - I'm simply using very little grid power.
The house had a beefy solar inverter system installed a few months before I moved in, and I have since configured it to a point where I am basically not using any power from the grid. It's a Sunsynk 8.8 Kw inverter with plenty of batteries. There were many problems at first, but forums like these helped me resolve almost all my issues.
I have been keeping an eye on my meter (an old-school disk one) to confirm my now lower usage, and the thing hasn't moved in about 3 weeks. I have been explicit about not exporting back into the grid, so the disk is definitely not moving backward.
Having looked into getting a prepaid meter (IMO the best option) I was met with a curt but undeniably clear message:
Taking a few hours that evening to research and find out what SSEG is, I decided that I'd rather not go that route, nor paint a target on my back by following up. Eventually, they'd ask "Do you have solar?" and I'd either have to lie, or get myself tagged on their system.
So, while I could try and go off-grid entirely, I'd rather not have to upkeep a backup generator (which I don't have), as well as have to deal with potential legal cases against me for just not paying my account, if I decide to go that route to disconnect my power.
Maybe the best option for me is to 'play the game' a bit, and increase my meter readings. I want to pay less than the estimates, but not much more than I have to.
I am now considering connecting my geyser to the grid again (instead of to my solar inverter) so that I can spin my meter, making my readings more 'believable', but still lower than the estimates.
Does anyone have any advice regarding what kind of usage levels gets accepted by Eskom's 'High/Low' thresholds for submitting meter readings?
Thank you!
I have recently (4 months ago) moved into a property. I have since registered with Eskom, and started to get bills.
These bills have estimates which result in bills of up to 17k per month!
I have been submitting my meter readings for over 3 months now, and I keep getting estimates rather than them using the readings I supply.
I assume on some level that my estimates must seem 'too low' to them; I imagine them thinking: "This guy is lying about his readings", or "He's tampered with his meter somehow". Neither of these are true - I'm simply using very little grid power.
The house had a beefy solar inverter system installed a few months before I moved in, and I have since configured it to a point where I am basically not using any power from the grid. It's a Sunsynk 8.8 Kw inverter with plenty of batteries. There were many problems at first, but forums like these helped me resolve almost all my issues.
I have been keeping an eye on my meter (an old-school disk one) to confirm my now lower usage, and the thing hasn't moved in about 3 weeks. I have been explicit about not exporting back into the grid, so the disk is definitely not moving backward.
Having looked into getting a prepaid meter (IMO the best option) I was met with a curt but undeniably clear message:
Taking a few hours that evening to research and find out what SSEG is, I decided that I'd rather not go that route, nor paint a target on my back by following up. Eventually, they'd ask "Do you have solar?" and I'd either have to lie, or get myself tagged on their system.
So, while I could try and go off-grid entirely, I'd rather not have to upkeep a backup generator (which I don't have), as well as have to deal with potential legal cases against me for just not paying my account, if I decide to go that route to disconnect my power.
Maybe the best option for me is to 'play the game' a bit, and increase my meter readings. I want to pay less than the estimates, but not much more than I have to.
I am now considering connecting my geyser to the grid again (instead of to my solar inverter) so that I can spin my meter, making my readings more 'believable', but still lower than the estimates.
Does anyone have any advice regarding what kind of usage levels gets accepted by Eskom's 'High/Low' thresholds for submitting meter readings?
Thank you!
