Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
What to do if you want to convert to prepayment
A house with one dwelling and one municipal bill is under the jurisdiction of the municipality.
A complex – residential, commercial or industrial – with bulk supply, meaning there is one meter supplying the entire complex, has sub- meters. Sub- metering falls under independent metering providers. Processes to follow:
Municipal process: 1 The consumers must find out if their municipality provides prepaid meters for the utility requested.
2 If the municipality does supply these meters, the consumer must apply for the meter at their municipality.
3 They will need to pay all outstanding bills to date, preferably by the day of application. If they have outstanding accounts, some municipalities will not take their applications.
4 The meters and installations must be paid for. Each municipality has different prices. The City of Cape Town’s processes and forms can be found on its website.
5 The municipality will follow its own timelines for installation.
6. Once the meter is installed there may be double billing until the account is finally closed.
This is common in Joburg due to the paper work that needs to be finalised and the departments that have to approve closure of the account. It is a long process for the municipality.
Sub-metering 1 The body corporate must have a resolution to move to prepaid.
2 The body corporate or managing agent must get quotes from private companies.
3 The relevant body must choose a provider.
Though sub-metering is faster and easier, it is far more complicated because:
The provider must have a good reputation.
The provider must comply with the regulations. Most companies do not know what regulations to comply with and most body corporates are unaware of how to check their compliance.
The provider’s systems must comply with regulatory requirements. Knowing the regulatory environment is one thing, having the systems and ability to comply is a different story.
The supplier must recommend the correct equipment based on the customer’s infrastructure, usability, regulatory compliance and previous and future compatibility.
The best private metering companies will ask of questions to ensure they provide the right system. If they do not do this before sending you a quote, you should avoid them.
While the municipal process is out of the consumer’s hands and they have no choice in the systems they get, the sub-metering process is risky as consumers can make the wrong choices, particularly in buildings with multiple units.
Source: Karen Wheller, PrepaidMeters.co.za