Meter readings made easy

THE CITY of Joburg’s ratepayers are now able to check online when their electricity and water meters will be read.

City spokesperson Kgamanyane Maphologela says the new billing regionalisation has made it possible for customers to track the dates online to prepare for the time when the meter readers come to their homes.

“One of the challenges the city faces when trying to read meters is that the properties they want to read are often inaccessible.

“The online service can assist customers to note the meter reading dates in their areas and make arrangements so that their meters can be read,” Maphologela adds.

The first phase of billing regionalisation was launched on February 1.

The city is planning to launch the second phase to include other regions not currently catered for.

Maphologela says the billing regionalisation will see the city streamlining its billing operations, which will result in improved billing accuracy, the ability of customers to choose their own due dates, regional meter reading, reduced long estimate billing and audit queries, and informed reporting for each region to afford improvement and problem-solving.

With customers now having the freedom to choose their own dates in which to pay their bills between the 15th and the last day of the month, many have so far chosen the 28th as their most preferred due date.

The second preferred date customers have chosen to pay their accounts is the 31st.

The first phase of the project started in regions A (Midrand), B (Randburg, Northcliff and Rosebank), C (Roodepoort) and E (Sandton).

The other regions – D(Soweto), F (inner city) and G (Lenasia, Ennerdale) – will be launched this year.