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Zimbabweans
speak out . . . On ZESA & electricity meter reading
Kubatana.net
June 08, 2012
View audio file details
Recently, the
Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company issued
some answers to Frequently Asked Questions about load shedding.
In this, they
state:
"Currently,
about 80% of meters are read each month. Those that are not read,
are estimated during that particular month, but such cases are then
read the following month without fail. The estimate, which is based
on historical consumption, is subsequently adjusted downwards or
upwards when the meter is read and actual consumption captured."
Kubatana shared
this information via Freedom Fone, and invited callers to share
their experiences.
Here are just
a few of their responses:
1) Yes they
do pass by my house to read the meter every once in a while, but
I've never had my bill reduced downwards the following month.
Listen
2) I want to
give an outcry for residents of Glen View and Kuwadzana Extension
where ZESA is literally punishing us. In Glen View electricity can
go for up to 10 to 12 hours a day. You have electricity at you homes,
it's not fair. Our bills are very high. If I meet these ZESA
people, surely if I meet these ZESA people . . . it's not
fair! My electricity bill was about a $100 and there is no justification
for such a high bill since we do not use even the oven to bake at
home. ZESA is taking advantage of us.
Listen
3) These guys are not serious. They've never been serious.
All I can say is this is just another lie. They never read our meters
frequently. All I know is our bills are based on estimates, which
is a clever way of them shortchanging us. It should be based on
actual readings, but this is never the case.
Listen
4) My meter reading is usually actual-based. I rarely get estimated
bills. Mine is usually actual billing.
Listen
5) Yeah, this
is the case that ZEDTC was doing all along. I've actually
had an experience whereby ZESA was simply mugging us of our hard-earned
money. It's rare for them to actually come and see the meter
readings, yet they continue to charge us exorbitant money even if
there is no electricity. So it's actually the experience we've
had with ZEDTC and we are advocating for it to shut down.
Listen
6) I stay here in Mvurwi, and I must say I am very bitter with
ZESA. Firstly, the bills come very late. Like right now, we're
in June, and we've not received our May statement. Secondly,
there is so much inconsistency in the billing. Like this for example
- In March, my bill was $15. In April, it was $76. I mean,
how does that work. I even asked them - How come I've
never seen any ZESA person come to my house and read the meter.
And moreover, we are always without ZESA. It's so annoying.
I don't even know where they come up with these ridiculous
figures. Okay, fair and fine. If I'm to pay $76, at least
it should be justified. Usually, we spend the whole day without
electricity. We only get electricity in the night when we are sleeping.
When we wake up, there is no electricity. I am very bitter about
this ZESA situation.
Listen
7) ZESA has
never been to my house to take any meter reading. They always write
estimates, which are always in the excess of $150 per month, and
even if I go there with my own meter reading, they do not use that.
I have to pay $150 for a family of two adults and two children who
are always at school and there is no one at home. My geyser is always
switched off. No one has ever come to take any meter reading whatsoever,
and it is always Estimate, Estimate, Estimate. I don't know
where they get their bills from. And if I don't pay, they
come and switch it off. And this is $150 per month. Who can even
pay that? What civil servant can go and pay that money? I think
ZESA is just ripping people off. They should put those pre-paid
meters in place. If they cannot afford to put them in, they should
ask people who want them to pay their own money and get them installed.
What ZESA is doing is utter rubbish. That company should just close.
Thanks for giving me a chance to air my views, because I am sick
and tired of these ZESA bills.
Listen
8) We do not
receive our bills, but ZESA authorities come to cut off the supply
at our house meters. When they have cut our supply, we pay an extra
$10 as reconnection fee without even receiving a bill. On some days,
load shedding occurs at 10 to 15 minutes intervals. This damages
our electrical appliances. We are sick and tired of this. If we
could afford to engage lawyers we would do so and sue ZESA for this.
As we speak, power was cut off and now it back again within a space
of five minutes. On top of all this, our bill are always estimated,
ZESA does not come to read our meters. And they are not consistent
in their system. One month you can receive a very high bill and
the next month one which is slightly less than the previous of an
amount averaging $20. We are not even aware of which rates they
use to calculate our bills. We haven't received our last month's
bill and it not shocking to see ZESA people coming to cut us off
the supply. ZESA is being corrupt.
Listen
9) ZESA doesn't come to read our meter. They're just
using estimate, but these estimates rise each time, so it's
a real cause for concern. I think ZESA's operations need continued
monitoring by the policy makers. It's ripping off customers.
Whether there's power or no they continue to charge. This
is a real eyesore.
Listen
10) In the last 6 months, we only had one actual meter reading.
Otherwise, 5 out of 6 have been estimates. To make things worse,
when we had the worst load shedding, that is when we had the highest
bill. It rose from $141 to $272 and surprisingly that was during
the month that we had the most load shedding.
Listen
11) It's
not true what the ZESA guys are saying. As for my case, they do
not read any meter, and when the bill comes, it is high, it does
not really reflect what they are giving. I think these guys are
playing with our minds.
Listen
12) In most cases, we don't even see the guys coming to record
our meters. In most cases the electricity bills we are receiving
are estimates. We can go for a year without seeing the guy collecting
the figures.
Listen
13) When our bills come they charge us for an estimate. It doesn't
reflect what you would have received for that month. It's
worrisome when you are being asked to pay more than what you actually
used. Sometimes we try to reduce consumption, but we don't
see that reflected in the amount that is levied at the end of the
month.
Listen
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Audio File
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Language: English
Duration: 10sec
Date: June 08, 2012
File Type: MP3
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Date: June 09, 2012
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