R83k electricity bill shocks Soweto granny
Eskom promises to investigate amount
A Soweto pensioner wants answers from Eskom on how her electricity bill skyrocketed from R18 000 to R81 000 and finally R83 000 in one month.
Maria Ndinisa, 69, of Meadowlands, who lives with her two sons and three tenants, said she always pays something every month to try to keep the interest from rising. Ndinisa said she paid about R300 a month while most Soweto residents are not paying at all, except those who have installed meter boxes. “I paid whatever I could from my government grant so that I don’t live for mahala [free],” said Ndinisa.
She said her neighbours have not received statements like hers and when she inquired she was told that it’s because her neighbours had installed meter boxes, which is not true.
Though she has a geyser, Ndinisa said it’s always switched off as they all boil water with an electric kettle. In winter, she said, she does not use a heater but makes a fire to warm her house.
“Assume the tenants used heaters, that would not escalate to R83 000,” she said.
She said she does not leave unused appliances plugged in.
“I use power-saving globes and only light up the room that I am using,” Ndinisa said. She said she had heeded the advice to upgrade her electronic appliances to new, energy-efficient models because the old ones consume more electricity.
On the day she was at Eskom to complain about her high bill she received a text message notifying her “to pay R83 000 to Eskom to avoid disconnection”.
On that day the bill had increased from R81 000 to R83 000, Ndinisa said.