Some homeowners say efforts to reduce their high electricity and water bills are not working. Property owners say they continue to accrue high bills even when their properties are unoccupied during holidays.
The use of solar geysers and LP gas is also not helping to bring down their sky-high monthly bills. And they believe that the excessive amount they pay is unjustifiable and that there is some element of overbilling.
Phathu Nyelisani bought his dream house in a new development this year. But since he moved into the complex, he has been having endless problems ranging from overbilling of electricity and water as well as structural damages to the property.
Some homeowners say efforts to reduce their high electricity, water bills are ineffective:
On a monthly basis, he spends over R2000 on electricity and R800 on water. Nyelisani thinks his bill is excessive because he lives alone and spends less time at home.
“My electricity is very high. I spent about plus or minus R2000 per month on electricity and I don’t cook because I live alone. The only time I cook is when I use a fryer.”
Phathu has a solar geyser but says even this has not reduced his electricity bill. He says there is no electricity and water meter at the complex and that estimates are used to determine how much money individual homeowners must pay.
“I don’t know if they use estimations based on the yard size but I am hardly at home and the only time I use water is in the morning when I take a shower and in the evening so why should I pay so much for water.”
Nyelisani believes that one of the biggest challenges that contribute to high billing is having a middleman who is paid to administer the billing system on behalf of the body corporate.
Our attempts to get comments from Remote Metering Solutions (RMS) were unsuccessful.
