The pain of smart meters
STRUBEN'S VALLEY – Lack of consultation and communication from City Power on the installation of smart meters frustrates residents.
Angry and furious is how Lisa van der Merwe of Struben’s Valley was left after noticing that her electricity meter was changed without her consent. Van der Merwe alleges that she had heard from people in other suburbs like Little Falls that the power utility was installing smart meters and no consultation was ever done. “What makes me mad is that they didn’t give us a choice or reasons why they changing the meter. This is just controlling and bullying people,” Van der Merwe said furiously.
She shared that last Thursday on her way from work she noticed that there was a City Power contractor working on meters in her street. I had a sense of relief when I saw them working that afternoon and said at least they will be able to explain how this smart meter works and how is it different from the old ones,” explained Van der Merwe.
She said no one came to her home which made her assume that her meter was never touched. “I was so shocked when I saw that my meter was changed when I checked on Friday morning,” she carried on.
One of her biggest concerns is that she was not consulted when the meter was changed. “How will I know that the meter reading they took is correct? How will I know that the new meter reading was on 00 when it was installed?,” questioned Van der Merwe.
A few meters from Van der Merwe’s house is Thabo Mmusi who shares the same sentiments. “How can they do things that affect people without telling them why and what they are doing? I never had any problems with my old meter,” said Mmusi.
Both residents said they tried to contact the power utility to get an explanation on the whole smart meter matter without success. As their last resort, they said they contacted their Ward councillor Jaco Engelbrecht, who gave a brief explanation. According to the residents, Engelbrecht said City Power confirmed that they were rolling out smart meters in Ward 97 and these meters can be programmed according to resident’s preferences which can either be pre-paid or post paid.
Comment from City Power to follow.
