New meters mean extra R34m for Eskom in Soweto
Eskom said on Friday that conversions of Soweto homes and businesses to pre-paid electricity meters had resulted in improved revenue collection to almost R34 million in less than two years.
The state-owned electricity company said it had started installing the meters in Soweto in 2013, with the target of converting all customers to split pre-paid meters within five years.
More than 40,000 split pre-paid meters had been installed since then and another 13,000 had been converted to pre-paid mode, resulting in a R33.63 million improvement in revenue collection between July 2014 and the end of February 2016.
Eskom said it was installing prepaid meters in Sandton, Midrand, Soweto and Kagiso in a bid to enhance revenue, “which is an important focus area to support our financial sustainability efforts”.
Benefits to customers go beyond the security of having a more sustainable national electricity provider and basking in the moral warmth and light enjoyed by those who pay for what they use as they use it.
Eskom said that customers would also see other benefits, such as reduction of public safety incidents and … “more importantly, the days of billing errors will be a thing of the past”.