HOW ARE WE DOING?

Eskom had improved revenue collection in Soweto by R33.63m between July 2014 and the end of February this year, it said on Friday. This resulted from the installation of more than 40,000 split prepaid meters since 2013 and the conversion of 13,000 credit meters to prepaid meters. Eskom has battled to collect revenue in Soweto for various reasons including illegal connections. In the six months to September, Soweto owed R9.7bn of Eskom’s total municipal debt arrears of R11.6bn. Last year there were street protests when Eskom attempted to install prepaid meters. Eskom said the potential revenue that could be unlocked from switching customers in Soweto to different meters was about R300 per customer per month, or R1.26m a month. Eskom has also been installing prepaid meters in Sandton, Midrand and Kagiso.