Tshwane electricity accounts

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nicroets

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A number of Pretoria residents indicated that they are unhappy with their electricity accounts.

The obvious culprit is Eskom. Another is mismanagement on the part of the municipality (why are the street lights burning during the day ??) and both leads to higher prices. But I'm not going to dwell on that.

Another problem is that many electricity meters are behind palisade fencing, so the municipality do a lot of estimates which results in a lot of corrections ("regstellings"). One solution is to submit your own readings per email. I can post the instructions, if there is a need.

I checked my reading and crunched the numbers, but could not find anything wrong: "Op my staat word 'n skatting as 'n lig grys blokkie aangedui. Die volgende maand is daar dan 'n regstelling. Met 'n regstelling trek hulle die hele bedrag van die vorige maand af. Die verbruik in kWh word dan bereken deur die meterlesing van 2 maande gelede ("Vorige") van die "Huidige" lesing af te trek. Die lengte van die periode is dan langer bv. 58 dae en dit klop met die Lesingdatums (Huidige datum minus vorige datum).

Ek het ook die prys per kWh uitgewerk vir 'n aantal maande (bedrag voor BTW gedeeldeur verbruik). Voor Julie was dit 'n baie konstante R0.88/kWh. Na Julie was dit R1.07 of R1.06. Die Julie faktuur het 2 lyntjies (die eerste lyn werk uit op R0.88 en die tweede op R1.06). My verbruik is 'n redelike konstante 750 kWh/maand.

Die lengte van die periodes wissel baie: 36 dae, 20 dae, 17 dae (einde Junie), 18 dae (begin Julie) en nou 39 dae. So, alhoewel ons verbruik per dag baie konstant is, gaan die grafiek op en af."
 
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I have been submitting my own meter readings for the past two years. Since the beginning of 2011, the $hittyOfTshwane announced on the back of their accounts, that one could now submit water readings as well.

Since I had started submitting my own electricity readings, I have had varying levels of success. In the past three months, not so much!?! Despite submitting my readings on the first allocated day for my area, my account is now always an estimate. I'm doing the work for them by submitting the readings myself & they can't even make the effort to enter the correct information.

In addition, despite me submitting the water readings since the beginning of 2011, they have never once used them either, again, always estimates!?! This month's estimate is so bad, that the meter reading they claim I should have reached will only happen in approximately two months' time.
 
I'm under Joburg and I don't take my own readings, but for the first time in I-don't-know-how-long, I got an estimated reading for my electricity usage last month.

My bill was astronomically high under this estimate, as well. (We're a 2-person household who have largely converted to gas)

I wonder what's going on here? Municipalities short of ready cash, perhaps?
 
Always short of cash, because they mismanage everything & continually give their useless management bonuses!?!

My other complaint is that it is always pay first & argue later, otherwise face finance charges :(
 
My bill this month is 3 times that of last month!! We did nothing diffrent than the rest of winter. I might have used the oven less.
 
I just got our bill.
The bills before June were an average of R1500 to R1700 per month.
Then no bills arrived for 3 months but I kept paying R1800 per month.
This month I received August's bill for over R3300.
The problem is that the water meter wasn't read for 92 days and the estimates were too low so my water for last month was R1600 alone. I have no idea how much this month will add to the bill.

What cheeses me off the most is that because the water and electricity are both on IBT (Inclining Block Tariffs) it means that most of us will get billed in much higher tariff blocks than we should be if the readings are not made every 30/31 days.

It's no good that the readings are corrected down the line.
I want to be REFUNDED at the same rates that I was billed at - not the cheaper (lower usage) rates.
This is theft plain and simple and I think a class action lawsuit against the municipality should be started.
I'm taking the day off on Wednesday to go and "chat" with someone at Centurion office.
:mad::mad::mad:
 
My problems thusfar:

July and August readings on our accounts state 'Taken over 40 days' each month. Tshwane is powerful enough to influence the number of days in a month it seems.

The cut our electricity in July and reconnected it after we had proven that we were not in arrears. We then got slapped with reconnection fees for both our water and electricty in August. Upon querying this, we were told that we have to pay R900 to investigate why the water and electricity was cut (despite us proving that payment was made on time).

We got hit for a desposit increase of R1600 as well.

The problem with our electricty meter is that it is locked in an enclosed box outside of our property so I cannot read the meter.
 
Thanks Jase - now I feel like I'm complaining about nothing.
If solar power wasn't so expensive to install and maintain, I'd drill a borehole and go off grid.
 
Paul_S said:
Thanks Jase - now I feel like I'm complaining about nothing.
If solar power wasn't so expensive to install and maintain, I'd drill a borehole and go off grid.
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Not at all. I feel the same way as you do. I feel so helpless because if I protest and refuse to pay, I get cut. I goto the council and arguing there is futile.

Meanwhile back at home, we ensure that no lights are on except when needed. The only thing that draws power when we goto bed is the fridge as we turn off everything else (including the stove, the microwave, computers, modem, clock radio etc.). We charge our phones in the car.

I am seriously comtemplating switching over to prepaid as our neighbours have done and they claim to at least have constant consumption on their electricity which they can monitor and manage themselves.

Civil servants my @Rse.
 
Jase said:
My problems thusfar:

The problem with our electricity meter is that it is locked in an enclosed box outside of our property so I cannot read the meter.
Click to expand...

You can get a key for those green boxes. I got mine for R20 at the Menlyn Retail Roadworthy Testing Centre next to Mean Machine.

If you have a problem obtaining one, PM me and we make a copy of mine.
 
Jase said:
I am seriously comtemplating switching over to prepaid as our neighbours have done and they claim to at least have constant consumption on their electricity which they can monitor and manage themselves.
Click to expand...

The only problem that I have with prepaid is that the tariffs in some municipalities is higher than paying the municipality directly.
At the moment the tariffs are the same but there's no guarantee that it will remain that way in the future.
 
Stokstert said:
You can get a key for those green boxes. I got mine for R20 at the Menlyn Retail Roadworthy Testing Centre next to Mean Machine.

If you have a problem obtaining one, PM me and we make a copy of mine.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately our boxes have padlocks on them.
 
Convert to prepaid. No mess, no fuss. It's the same rate (in Tshwane at least) as the normal municipal electricity, but you manage your own usage and thereby have NO billing issues. Best thing I ever did for my sanity :D
 
NEWS MEDIA STATEMENT BY COUNCILLOR ADRIANA RANDALL, DA SPOKESPERSON FOR FINANCE IN THE TSHWANE METRO COUNCIL : PRETORIA : 20 SEPTEMBER 2011




Account shock looming



A second nasty surprise awaits residents relating to Municipal accounts this month. The electricity tariff increase as per the NERSA directive was omitted from the last account, due to a "technical oversight" from Council. Most residents were under the impression that the exceptionally high accounts received last month were as a result of the electricity increase. This is unfortunately not the case. Last months' accounts had been levied for between 41 and as much as 71 days. Normally accounts are levied for 31 days. Reasons supplied by officials range from stolen cables to the SAP system that was offline.



Residents should brace themselves, again, for a large account from the city. The new accounts will be issued with the new Electricity tariff adjustments, an increase of between 25% and 28%. In short, residents will have to cough up for between two and three months consumption.



According to Cllr. Adriana Randall, DA spokesperson for Finance, this is totally unacceptable. Residents have to pay when Council fumbles. We won't be surprised if residents launch Court action in terms of the Consumer Protection Act, like residents in Johannesburg did earlier this year. The affordability of Municipal services are becoming a problem for a lot of residents and administrative bungling just adds to an already unbearable situation.



Enquiries may be directed to Cllr Adriana Randall at: 083 263 8667
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Go look at the tarrifs they charge per unit for prepaid. It's way more expensive.
 
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Finance Department
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Revenue Management Division
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1st Floor I BKS I 373 Pretorius Streets I Pretoria I 0004
PO Box 408 I Pretoria I 0004
Tel: 012 358 9999 I Fax: 012 359 6111
Email: [email protected] I www.tshwane.gov.za
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My ref:
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Tel: * 012 358 9999
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Your ref:
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Fax: *012 359 6111
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Email: [email protected]
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Date: 16 September 2011
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«Name»​ * * * ​
«Address»
«Address1»
«Address2»
«Address3»
«Address4»
«Address5»
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Sir / Madam
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INVOICE FOR SEPTEMBER 2011 - «Account_number»
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Please be advised that the September 2011 account has been issued with the adjustments of the Electricity tariffs as per the directive of NERSA (National Energy Regulator of South Africa) and Council approval of Tariffs, for July and August 2011
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Due to the aforestated and the fact that meter readers were unable to obtain an electricity reading, no consumption has been levied for the said service on the September 2011 account.
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In order to avoid an accumulation of debt on the account, it is suggested that an average electricity amount be paid onto the account. *The October 2011 account is going to be issued with the September and October consumption.
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I wish to sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused as a result of this technical oversight.
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Yours faithfully
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ACTING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: REVENUE MANAGEMENT
D. PILLAY
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Kgoro ya tša Ditšhelete • Departement Finansies • Lefapha la Matlotlo • Ndzawulo ya swa Timali • UMnyango Wezezimali • Finance Department
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