The Emfuleni Local Municipality’s (Evaton, Sebokeng, Vaal Oewer, Vanderbijlpark, Vereeniging) unfair practice of overcharging residents with faulty electricity and water meters should not be tolerated.
Many consumers receiving such bills have already reported the defective meters, but they cannot be replaced due to the Municipality’s lack of stock.
Some residents have been waiting a year, or three, for their faulty meters to be replaced.
The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) also expressed concern about residents using borehole water who still receive estimated water bills.
Residents who approached the party with complaints reported receiving three years’ worth of estimated water and sewerage bills in a single month. One resident’s water bill was R40 455 and sewerage R6 649. Another, who gets water from a borehole, was charged R30 035 for water and R6 648 for sewerage.
According to the Municipality’s tariff book for the 2025/26 financial year, unreadable, faulty or non-functional water meters are billed at a fixed rate of 30 kilolitres per month. This tariff is unfair as many consumers do not use this much water monthly.
With regard to electricity consumption, the party could find no specific provision explaining the process or outlining the applicable procedure for when an electricity meter is faulty.
The Freedom Front Plus sent a letter to the Department of Finance with the following questions:
- What billing policy applies when a water or electricity meter is faulty or unreadable for an extended period?
- What billing policy applies when a water or electricity meter is faulty or unreadable for an extended period?
- Is a standard or estimated consumption applied? If so, what is the fixed amount?
- Has this practice been consistently applied over the past three financial years?
- Are there any provisions in the municipal by-laws or credit control policy that provide for retrospective adjustments or disputes of charges when an error is confirmed?
This unfair treatment of Emfuleni residents has to stop.
The Freedom Front Plus will keep pressuring the Municipality to ensure consumers are treated fairly.
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