Prepaid Electricity rip-off.

chefdude98 said:
I feel like the area I reside in is really expensive.

Purchased R150 voucher today.
Amount : R130.43
Vat : R19.57

Units : 67.8kWh.
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If direct with Municipality then it depends how much did you buy earlier in the month
bwana said:
How much are you paying for gas? There is a maximum amount that they are allowed to charge per kg.
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I think he buys Gas where he pleases
 
The independent prepaid business model is booming due to municipality laws

The municipality is entitled to cut off your water or electricity supply for none payment or bill you additionally for the one service if short paid on the second service

Meaning.... If you don't pay your rates and water, and the municipality deducts a percentage when you purchase prepaid power

The Landlord on the other hand faces a jail term should be shut off power and water to the premises for none payment by the tenant when presenting a bill to the tenant.
 
isie said:
Its a complicated affair they cannot make a profit but need to cover their costs so they are slightly higher but not the rate that you paying
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Yes, I agree. But I think I'll have to move... I don't think I can win this fight. It looks like they've been getting away with it for a long time judging from the way that guy speaks about it.

South African "entreupreneurship" I guess.
 
bwana said:
How much are you paying for gas? There is a maximum amount that they are allowed to charge per kg.
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I've only just moved in there so I haven't had to fill it yet, but I believe we can fill it through any service provider of our choice. We don't actually pay money to the complex for gas.
 
CADman said:
Yes, I agree. But I think I'll have to move... I don't think I can win this fight. It looks like they've been getting away with it for a long time judging from the way that guy speaks about it.

South African "entreupreneurship" I guess.
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Hi CADMan I have inboxed you, I am from Citiq Prepaid and would like to look into this for you.
 
CADman said:
Hi all,

I recently moved into a new apartment complex and I noticed that I was getting very few units of electricty for a lot of money. Upon further investigation I found out that the cost per unit of the prepaid meter is set far higher than Eskom's/Municipality's rate.

Just to give you an idea, I bought a voucher for R200 and only received 26.4 units. That's R7.58 per unit!

I contacted the prepaid metering company (Citiq), who said they do not set the rates. I then contacted the rental office and the estate agent who directed me to a guy who is in-charge of the prepaid meter installation and power consumption for the complex. He (the prepaid guy) tells me it's because the solar geyser is connected to a supplementary main supply which also draws power, therefore they have to adjust the rate to make up for that cost. He thinks he is "being fair" and recouping their expenses and that I shouldn't complain because the charges are so low due to complex having gas stoves and solar geysers.

There is no mention of such costs in my rental lease and now I'm being told that if I don't like it, I should move out. What can I do? Who can I complain to? NERSA site is broken, Eskom won't listen...

I live on my own in a single bedroom apartment with a gas stove and solar geyser and my electricity is costing me around R800 p/m. Any advice would be appreciated.
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I don't think your monthly electricity spend is that much higher than it would be for a single person anywhere else regardless. Maybe a couple hundred more at most. I don't know if that's worth moving over.
 
Nick333 said:
I don't think your monthly electricity spend is that much higher than it would be for a single person anywhere else regardless. Maybe a couple hundred more at most. I don't know if that's worth moving over.
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I don't think so. I have monitored my daily usage since moving in and it is approximately 4-6 units per day. That's 6x30days = 180 units per month (upper limit). Let's further round that up to 200 units per month, a fairly normal amount for a single person in a small apartment. At a "normal" rate of around R2 per unit that gives me R400 per month. If I the same amount of units in this new complex, I'll end up paying R7.58x200 which is R1400. I have already spent R800 this month and I need to fill again as it is already low. Should have specified in the OP that this is R800 so far.
 
Report them to NERSA, if they give you ****, just bridge the meter, its really not difficult fight illegal fire with fire
 
Nick333 said:
I don't think your monthly electricity spend is that much higher than it would be for a single person anywhere else regardless. Maybe a couple hundred more at most. I don't know if that's worth moving over.
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we a family of 4 and spend less then him , logically speaking he should be spending less then 1/4 of what i do ,
 
CADman said:
I don't think so. I have monitored my daily usage since moving in and it is approximately 4-6 units per day. That's 6x30days = 180 units per month (upper limit). Let's further round that up to 200 units per month, a fairly normal amount for a single person in a small apartment. At a "normal" rate of around R2 per unit that gives me R400 per month. If I the same amount of units in this new complex, I'll end up paying R7.58x200 which is R1400. I have already spent R800 this month and I need to fill again as it is already low. Should have specified in the OP that this is R800 so far.
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You're if ignoring the fact that without the solar and gas you'd be spending more. I spend over R600 as a single person while being pretty conservative, so your only spending max R200 more than you would anywhere else. Is that worth moving for?
 
Nick333 said:
You're if ignoring the fact that without the solar and gas you'd be spending more. I spend over R600 as a single person while being pretty conservative, so your only spending max R200 more than you would anywhere else. Is that worth moving for?
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you haven't factored in what he will still need to spend in on gas ?
Plus its winter Solar still uses electric backup more now (especially if he is showering in the morning) - they claim his geyser is not connected to his unit but i'm pretty sure that BS. He isn't reaping the savings he should on solar and gas.
 
Nick333 said:
You're if ignoring the fact that without the solar and gas you'd be spending more. I spend over R600 as a single person while being pretty conservative, so your only spending max R200 more than you would anywhere else. Is that worth moving for?
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Again, I have spent R800 so far. I only moved in on the 1st of July, so I cannot tell you the final bill per month. I'll probably hit R1000+.

As it stands, I'm paying R400 more per month than I'm used to. That's going to increase by 31 July.

Regardless, my colleagues, brother and many other people I know who have families spend less than R600 a month in their households.
This can be verified by simple arithmetic. They get charged R1.34 per unit as per City Power tariffs (<500KWh). Their family uses on average 400KWh per month. That means 1.34x400 = R 536 per month. If you're paying over R600 per month for a single person and think that's normal, you're getting ripped off too.

I'm not sure where you're based, but I have attached a pdf of the City Power Joburg rates for your consideration.
 

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