Johannesburg City Power says it will extend working hours and suspend penalty fees for non-vending customers as the deadline for prepaid electricity meter upgrades approaches.
Prepaid electricity customers need to upgrade their meters by Sunday, 24 November.
CITY POWER EXTENDS WORKING HOURS TO ASSIST PREPAID ELECTRICITY CUSTOMERS
City Power said that while it is pleased that over 99% of its vending prepaid meters have been duly upgraded, a handful of outstanding vending customers remain.
Spokesperson Isaac Mangena said on Monday, 18 November; they were sitting with 1061 customers whose meters were still pending the upgrades, plus 119 that were partially upgraded.
“We are now left with 1001 customers requiring upgrades. Of those outstanding customers, 562 are in Alexandra, where our technicians are still facing some reluctance from customers. However, we have noticed that the majority of those customers who are refusing to give us access to their properties are opting to visit our Service Delivery Centres to seek assistance with upgrades,” Mangena said.
Mangena said they also have about 255 meters outstanding in Midrand, and they have encountered some difficulties in locating some of these meters due to address issues. However, they are working on resolving this challenge through the normalisation programme.
“Our technicians have visited an additional 188 customers needing upgrades but could not get access because owners are not available during weekdays. Our teams working at night and over the weekend will attend to this group of customers.
“From today (Thursday), our Service Delivery Centres across the city of Johannesburg will remain open until 19:00 in the evening to address the backlog of meters that need upgrading. Our offices will also be open on Saturday and Sunday to allow our teams to continue attending to Token Identifier-related queries for an extended period,” he added.
With just two days left before the deadline, City Power has also increased its boots on the ground as teams spread across all supply areas are conducting audits and providing added support to customers to expedite the recording of those meters.
NO PENALTIES FOR CUSTOMERS WHO”BIDGED” THEIR METERS
City Power said that for customers who have not been vending, most of whom are in non-affluent areas, It has opened a grace period between Thursday and Sunday. During this period, it will help resolve TID enquiries, including changing customers’ meters, without imposing a penalty fee.
City Power said ordinarily, it would cost about R14 000 for a single-phase meter and over R30 000 for the three-phase meter to be replaced as a penalty for tampering.
“Given the present circumstances, City Power has decided to suspend the penalty fees to accommodate each customer. However, anyone who refuses to take advantage of this opportunity will not only be unable to load units after this coming Sunday, but they will also have to pay those penalties.”
Residents are also encouraged to use the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) method to complete the prepaid electricity meter upgrade as an alternative.
Customers with unconverted meters can do so by purchasing electricity units. They will receive three 20-digit token codes, the last of which is the unit token code. If all three tokens are accepted, the meter has been successfully upgraded, and the display will show a smiley face as confirmation.
Another option is to contact City Power by contacting our call centre on 0800 202 925. A technician will be assigned to assist over the phone or arrange a visit at a suitable time.
ARE YOU SUPPLIED BY CITY POWER? HAVE YOU UPGRADED YOUR PREPAID ELECTRICITY METER? WAS IT SEAMLESS?
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