LETTERS | Smart meters

Who is this mysterious person?

Municipalities have to appoint a building control officer in terms of the Building Control and Building Standards Act.

This person must  identify him- or herself upon request with a certificate signed by the municipal manager.

We have tried this and were denied. The person remains a mystery as BCM refuses to divulge the name of this person, even  when we applied for this information through the Public Access to Information Act (PAIA). Now we are going to the high court to force BCM to divulge this name.

Who is this mysterious person? Why is BCM keeping it a secret? — Christo Theart, Chair of Centre for Local Community Rights

Smart meters

BCM took the decision some three years back to change all meter types to smart meters. 

These domestic smart meters have a 99% accuracy.  They can both be monitored remotely for consumption and disconnected remotely. 

If customers feel the smart meter is overcharging them or is inaccurate, they can pay a once-off meter test fee. They will be refunded if the tested meter accuracy is out by 2.5% and their usage will be adjusted accordingly.  

Customers can view their daily usage on a mobile app.  

All prepayment meters have to be changed out by 2024 as new smart meters have to be “key revision 2 coded meters” in order to vend on the BCM prepayment vending system.

Hence the urgency for this project to be completed.

In other words, those meters that have not been converted by 2024 will not let you buy prepayment electricity until the conversion has taken place.

In the Mdantsane area and other areas, and as a priority concern, BCM has targeted some 13,000 “non-purchasing meters” with no or low purchasing on the current prepayment vending system. Where meters are found to have been tampered with, they are reported to the revenue protection unit who will:

• Remotely disconnect the smart meter; 
• Calculate due backdated consumption due to BCM; and
• Recover due bylaw punitive charges.

Once paid, the  meters will be reconnected.    

Customers have the right to dispute any billed charge or vended amount, and this will be individually addressed and attended to in compliance with electricity bylaws.

BCM has already converted more than 95% of all postpaid meters to the smart metering programme. — Samkelo Ngwenya, BCM Spokesperson