[Question] Billing for water/electricity without details of usage.?

[pedruid]

I live in a retirement village and receive a monthly statement which covers, level, security water and electricity.
The statement does not include readings for these two items, price only.
I took up this matter with the Foundation which administers he village and was informed that the accounting software package they use had no space left for these items. I might add that if I want these readings then I must obtain them from the village supervisor.
Can anyone on this forum advice me if what the Foundation is doing is legal?

[Dave A]

In my case - along with the invoice I get sent my meter readings and consumption details as a separate report.

If it isn't a legal requirement to supply meter readings, I suggest as minimum it is good practice...

[pedruid]

In my case - along with the invoice I get sent my meter readings and consumption details as a separate report.

If it isn't a legal requirement to supply meter readings, I suggest as minimum it is good practice...

Thanks Dave.

[ians]

Or just fit your own private meter and take monthly readings and compare them to the bill.

A private electricity meter will cost you around R600 plus installation... i dont know the water meter cost... you monitor it yourself.

Chatting to a lawyer over the weekend ...there are a few cases which his clients have won due to incorrect readings and over charging.

One of my customers had a private meter installed in his factory to monitor his useage... he was refunded a large amount of money once he could prove his bill was incorrect.

It is easy to work out what your monthly account once you have a recorded the info... i have attached the Durban rates.

You just take the reading on the 1 st and again on the 31st then check your bill to see which scale you are on and multiple it by the tariff

http://www.durban.gov.za/City_Services/electricity/Tariffs/Current%20Tariffs/Tarrif%20Booklet%202019-20.pdf

[pedruid]

Or just fit your own private meter and take monthly readings and compare them to the bill.

A private electricity meter will cost you around R600 plus installation... i dont know the water meter cost... you monitor it yourself.

Chatting to a lawyer over the weekend ...there are a few cases which his clients have won due to incorrect readings and over charging.

One of my customers had a private meter installed in his factory to monitor his useage... he was refunded a large amount of money once he could prove his bill was incorrect.

It is easy to work out what your monthly account once you have a recorded the info... i have attached the Durban rates.

You just take the reading on the 1 st and again on the 31st then check your bill to see which scale you are on and multiple it by the tariff


http://www.durban.gov.za/City_Servic...%202019-20.pdf

Thanks but it's not worth my while as i said in my post, I live in a retirement village and must abide by the rules. My reason for th post was to ascertain the legality of the situation. It appears not to be illegal and so I will not pursue it further.
Thanks for your input.

[Blurock]

I live in a retirement village and receive a monthly statement which covers, level, security water and electricity.
The statement does not include readings for these two items, price only.
I took up this matter with the Foundation which administers he village and was informed that the accounting software package they use had no space left for these items. I might add that if I want these readings then I must obtain them from the village supervisor.
Can anyone on this forum advice me if what the Foundation is doing is legal?

If the utilities are metered, the information has to be provided. The price of both electricity and water is escalating at an alarming rate with no end in sight. This is now a source of revenue for municipalities and will keep on rising. A regulation was recently passed that every single unit must now have its own meter (not sure if it applies to electricity as well). The practice of dividing the account by the number of units is outdated and relates to the good old days when utility services were still inexpensive. Why should a single tenant subsidize a big family??

There are a number of options available from conventional metering to prepaid (not recommended) and AMR (automated meter reading).
We have now perfected an AMI system (advanced metering infrastructure) whereby water meters can be read and controlled from a central office. The meters can be read daily (to quickly detect possible leaks or abnormal usage). By measuring equal periods, statistical analysis can be applied to predict usage trends and detect leaks. This is also ideal for property managers with holiday flats, where the water can be turned off when empty and turned on when a deposit is paid. Water balancing can also be done by comparing the inflow via the bulk meter to the total consumption of the individual units.
The expense for installing such a system is justified by the savings generated and elimination of disputes e.g. where tenants are charged according to PQ even if they are not there for a period of time.