News

Eskom converting all credit customers to prepaid

20 April 2016 By Alan

Eskom has made a strategic decision to convert all of its conventionally billed customers to prepaid meters.

It says this project will enhance its revenue which is an important focus area to support its financial sustainability efforts.

“Customers are encouraged to convert from their conventional meters to the prepaid billing mode as it has several benefits such as improved reliability‚ reduction of public safety incidents and better management of energy consumption. More importantly‚ the days of billing errors will be a thing of the past‚” the electricity provider says.

In Sandton and Midrand‚ the plan is to have all 32‚885 of its domestic customers with smart meters installed and converted to prepaid meters by the end of the 2016/17 financial year….

Source: Eskom installs almost 6‚000 smart meters in Sandton and Midrand – Times LIVE

Prepaid electricity meters lead to electricity savings for consumers

19 April 2016 By Alan

The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) said the pre-paid electricity project had brought major benefits, such as forcing customers to avoid power wastage.

“Customers now have the empowerment to manage their electricity usage,” the statement said.

“The majority of customers have cut back consumption by between 21% and 27%, leading to considerable savings in both electricity and money.”

ZETDC has over the past years installed about 40 000 free pre-paid meters to domestic and industrial properties in a project that has reduced electricity demand by 110 megawatts (MW) at any given time.

Zimbabwe needs about 2 200MW of electricity at peak consumption, but generates just below 1 300MW, while relying on imports from South Africa and Mozambique to fill the gap.

Despite battling ageing equipment and failure to generate enough electricity for the nation, load-shedding has been minimised since last December.

ZETDC said it was awaiting 130 000 new pre-paid meters to reduce the backlog and cater for new connections in new residential areas.

Source: ‘Pre-paid electricity meters force consumers to change habits’ – NewsDay Zimbabwe

120,000 Prepaid Meters being distributed in Jos, Nigeria

16 April 2016 By Alan

The Jos Electricity Distribution Company has commenced distribution and installation of 120,000 prepaid meters in its four franchise states of Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe and Benue.

Daily Trust reports that distribution of prepaid meters are presently on-going around Jos North, Jos South and other parts of Plateau State.

JED Managing Director, Mohammed Gidado Modibbo had during the launch of the prepaid meters and transformers earlier this week said the company also plans to distribute 180,000 prepaid meters before the end of 2016….

Source: Nigeria: Jos Disco Commences Distribution of 120,000 Prepaid Meters

Why you should source prepaid meters from reputable electricians

12 April 2016 By Alan

Kimberley – The Sol Plaatje Municipality has opened a criminal case after an elderly couple in New Park were conned into spending hundreds of rands on buying a prepaid electricity meter in what appears to be the latest scam to hit the city.

Jeanette and Robert Horowitz, said that they had been fooled into handing over money to a very presentable man who claimed to be installing electricity meters on behalf of the municipality.

“Earlier this week, I received a call from a very well-spoken lady who said she was from the Northern Cape Municipality’s head office in Johannesburg,” Jeanette said.

“She was extremely friendly and knew quite a bit of personal information about us.

“After a few days, we were visited by a well-dressed and very presentable man who said that he had come to explain how the new meter system would work. He also explained to us that, as pensioners, we would receive a rebate.”

Jeanette said that the amount of personal information that the suspect had about them had caught them off guard and that they only realised that they had been scammed once it was too late.

“He seemed to have a great deal of information about us,” she said. “He even knew how much our municipal accounts had been for the last three months.

“He told us that the meter would cost us R1 800, with an additional R550 installation fee, and added that they also had another product, similar to a generator, which provides electricity during load shedding. This device cost R4 000 and I told him that as pensioners, we just do not have that kind of money.

“We asked how payment for the meter would work and were told to give him a portion of the money and the rest could be paid off.”….

Source: Elderly pair fall victim to prepaid electricity scam | IOL

Split prepaid metering improves Eskom’s revenue

9 April 2016 By Alan

On Thursday, South Africa’s state-owned power utility, Eskom, said that it is currently installing prepaid meters in Sandton, Midrand and Soweto as well as Kagiso, with the objective being to enhance revenue to support the company’s financial sustainability efforts.

Plans for Johannesburg’s large urban settlement, Soweto, which has an estimated 180,000 customers, of which 80% are connected to a conventional billed metering system, include converting all users to split prepaid meters within the next 5 years.

The utility highlighted in a company statement that customers will reap additional benefits such as improved reliability, reduction of public safety incidents and better management of energy consumption.

The company added that the days of billing errors will be a thing of the past.

In 2013, Eskom embarked on a project of installing split prepaid meters in Soweto, which resulted in a ZAR33.63 million ($2 million) revenue improvement in Soweto. The improved revenue collection is owed to the installation of 40,000 split prepaid meters and having converted over 13,000 to prepaid mode….

Source: Split prepaid metering shows improvement for Eskom revenue | ESI-Africa.com