Several residents contacted The Bulletin to complain about high electrical charges.
The budget made provision for a hike of 9.86% on electricity charges.
Unfortunately, residents suddenly had to pay a 16,21% increase on some charges.
Prepaid electricity is charged in blocks. 0 to 50 Units, 51 to 350 Units and 351 to 600. Residents are mostly purchasing in the 51 to 350 units block and this is where the problem lies. Instead of increasing it by only 9,86%, it increased by 16,21%.
In a statement released by the Democratic Alliance (DA), Cllr Terry-Lee Kleynhans said that the municipality’s top brass has conceded that it would appear that there are discrepancies in the block 2 category. They have also further committed to opening an investigation and reimbursing affected households.
“Noting the high levels of unemployment in Govan Mbeki, we find this alleged error unacceptable,” said Kleynhans, “ The municipality’s electrical and finance division needs to start taking accountability and perform their duties with due diligence.”
“Just last year, we learnt that the municipality’s electricity distribution loss was sitting at an alarming 63%. The losses consisted of both technical losses (10%) and non-technical losses (53%).”
“Therefore, this goes to show that there are serious shortcomings in the municipality’s energy division that are directly affecting every household in Govan Mbeki. The DA does not buy into the notion that the municipality will impartially investigate this matter.”
Govan Mbeki Municipality has subsequently released a statement on their Facebook page stating that:
Govan Mbeki Municipality has established that there has been an error in Block 2 of the electricity supply tariffs for the period of 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025.
This was a result of an administrative error when effecting the 9.86% tariffs increase approved by Council.
The increased tariff should have been R2.20 instead of R2.33, resulting in a 13-cent difference.
It should be noted, however, that the municipality applied the 9.86% increase correctly among all the blocks.
Consumers should not be alarmed as the municipality is investigating the impact of this error.
The municipality will ensure consumers are credited with the correct approved tariffs, which will be reflected in their statements.
Comments on the GMM Facebook page said:
- There’s just 1 word to describe GMM: Greedy. Feel nothing for the community. Just take the current water situation!!
- How will you refund prepaid customers?
- Skelms!
- Govan Mbeki Municipality why are you blocking Prepaid Electricity meters law-abiding residents who are in arrears? Are you pushing them to also Steal electricity like others?
“We urge the municipality to release a report on their findings and bring the matter to the council for effective measures and solutions to be implemented,” said Kleynhans, “Residents of Govan Mbeki deserve an effective and competent government. With this in mind, we call on the District Municipality to step in and bring stability to the municipality’s Technical Service Department.”
Not only did the increase affect a lot of people, but they also had no way to purchase units. The following statement was on the GMM Facebook page:
Dear Valued Customers
Prepaid users are alerted that our third-party vendor, PowerUp, is experiencing network challenges, affecting vending transactions for both online and retail sales.
Customers are directed to download the EasyPay application to make the purchase or purchase from Money Market retailers or any other EasyPay accredited retailer or via the banking applications.
We apologise for any inconvenience and Powerup is working on resolving the problem.
Thank you for your patience and cooperation.
ISSUED BY GOVAN MBEKI MUNICIPALITY
Let us hope that GMM prioritises the electricity issues, especially after the long water crises, and fix the problems plaguing the basic services of this municipality.
