City of Tshwane Calls on Customers with Tampered Prepaid Electricity Meters to Come Forward and Confess with a Reduced Meter Tampering Fee Deposit

CITY OF TSHWANE CALLS ON CUSTOMERS WITH TAMPERED PREPAID ELECTRICITY METERS TO COME FORWARD AND CONFESS WITH A REDUCED METER TAMPERING FEE DEPOSIT

By Cllr Eugene Modise

Deputy Mayor and MMC for Finance

As a caring government, the City of Tshwane is offering all its customers who have tampered with their prepaid electricity meters an opportunity to present themselves at its municipal offices to make payment arrangements for the electricity tampering fee.

More than 108 727 of the City’s total fleet of 358 042 prepaid meters on the vending system have not been converted to Key Revision Number (KRN)-2.

This effectively means that 30% of the City’s prepaid meters are not vending on KRN-2. These nonvending meters are either tampered with or bridged.

Based on these figures, the City has decided on a payment arrangement offer for customers guilty of meter tampering to assist them with normalising their meters in line with KRN-2.

We have assessed the economic situation and status of some of our customers and, as a caring and responsible municipality, we have resolved to be accommodative by requesting a R3 000 deposit of the R29 000 tampering fee.

Customer must sign an acknowledgement of debt, and the remaining balance will then be paid monthly as per the arrangement that the customer made with Group Financial Services.

Once a customer has finalised such arrangement, the City’s technicians will visit the customer’s household or business premises to normalise or replace the meter.

Arrangements can be made at the City’s credit control offices. Customers are required to bring along their identity documents and the R3 000 deposit.

The City of Tshwane appreciates those residents who have confessed to meter
tampering and have now shown an interest to be responsible people.