Now you can buy electricity via sms

The Tshwane Metro has launched a new system for the buying of pre-paid electricity units. The system called cellpower is the first of its kind in the country and uses cellphone technology to allow people to buy electricity.

The system will see vendors buying electricity and selling it to consumers using cellular and SMS technology. The system means that consumers will have easier access to prepaid tokens as the vendors will be closer to where they live and will be open after hours.

"It will benefit the users of the system as they won't have to queuing up and wasting a lot of time but secondly it will have very interesting economic spin-offs", said Smangaliso Mkhatshwa, the Tshwane executive mayor.

Anyone with an MTN contract, paid up electricity account, and an initial deposit of R5 000 can apply to become a vendor. Vendors will earn a five percent commission on the electricity they sell.