Pre-paid Electricity Costs (Question )

[Perform Computers]

Hi all,

I'm in Northern Suburbs Western Cape. I have a pre-paid meter in my apartment. This is how it works when I purchase electricity...

I goto a UniPIN vendor ( Spar, Engen etc ) & ask for a R50 electricity voucher. ( This can be any amount ).

Cashier gives me a receipt with a voucher number on it.

I SMS my meter number*voucher number to a 31..something number, and a few minutes later I get the code that I enter into my meter and bam, I'm topped up.

Now.....

I've done some calculations.....

I've bought R50 vouchers, R30 vouchers, R250 vouchers....

& the average I come out to is.....

R1,43c per unit on my meter.

I use less than 270 units per month. ( I turn the geyzer off, only use energy savings lamps etc ).

My question.....

Isn't this a bit high? I read somewhere that some people pay 77c per unit. I also read / heard it depends on the type of meter that you have that determines the cost per unit.

Can someone please help me here.

1) Is my price per unit high for someone who uses very little electricity?

2) Must I get another meter? ( Apparently they go according to Amps ).

If someone could help me I would really appreciate it.

Thank you

[AndyD]

Your consumption is low and you should even be getting your 50 free units per month. Your unit price sounds very high to me, we also fall into the low consumption bracket and we pay a lot less than that. At the beginning of this month I purchased R30.00 of electricity at the local BP garage and we got our 50 free units and 40.50 units for the R30.00 paid (over 90 units for 30 bucks) but later in the month when we purchase more the price per unit gets higher. I'm not sure how your sms thing works, I just manually punch the 20-digit number directly into my meter.

[HR Solutions]

When I applied for my metre, they told me that there were two kinds of packages you could use. The two packages relate directly to the cost of the electricity. One you get free electricity units, then you pay a bit more per unit and the other you do not get free electricity and pay a little bit less per unit. I remeber doing the maths and figure that my bill is around R1000 per month therefore the free units would not be the cheaper option for me, because it is also linked to how much you use per month. Your best bet is to go to the municipality and check which option you are on.

[Justloadit]

The UNIPIN, is another form of prepaid electricity vending. You pay R1.00 for the SMS.
You probably fall under the Cape Town Municipality, so effectively can go to any Spar or Engen garage and purchase any amount of electricity by providing your meter number. They will then print a slip with a 20 digit code which you enter into your meter.

If you are a FNB or Absa customer, you can also purchase on line off your internet banking page 24/7

[Perform Computers]

Thank you all who replied. I know now, after numerous phone calls, why I'm paying so much per unit.

It's completely depressing and at the same time it infuriates me, so I'll rather just stop here.

[HR Solutions]

Can you tell us the reason, I am interested to hear if what I was told is similar to yours.

[AndyD]

It's completely depressing and at the same time it infuriates me, so I'll rather just stop here.

Nah c'mon, take a few deep breaths and at least tell us what you found.

[Dave A]

Something to do with this step, I expect.

I SMS my meter number*voucher number to a 31..something number, and a few minutes later I get the code that I enter into my meter and bam, I'm topped up.

Sounds like an intermediary has managed to wriggle into the process.

[HR Solutions]

But thats how prepaid works. You have the unipin option where you can buy your 20 digit no across the counter or the sms option whereby you sms the *120* no.

[Perform Computers]

Hi all,

This is how it works....

We rent a garden cottage on my landlord's property. Wonderful little place, perfect for an "office". Now I have a pre-paid meter in my cottage, but he doesn't have one in his house. He just receives a normal electricity bill every month.

What's happening is that my meter is linked to his house bill, so I pay the price per unit on the combined bill of myself and the house. I'm not an entity on my own.

Wonderful landlord, helped me a lot explaining to me that it would cost R3.5k odd to install another meter etc. So instead of paying 89c odd per unit, I'm paying R1.45 odd. To set it up so that he has his own bill and I have my own bill, he will have to purchase a pre-paid meter and convert.

It's so much trouble and effort I think the easier option is just to accept it. I'm paying about R150 per month extra that I would've saved if I was on my own account.

[Miro Bagrov]

Please explain how to apply and get the 50 free units Pm... Now I'm interested. The house is on prepaid.

Cheapest place to get electricity is at the government office.

[Justloadit]

Please explain how to apply and get the 50 free units Pm... Now I'm interested. The house is on prepaid.

Cheapest place to get electricity is at the government office.

The free units are usually for pensioners and owners who get social grants.
Contact your local municipality for further details.

Yes it is cheaper at the government office, but they have crappy office hours, and are not conveniently placed, so buying small denominations has no savings, especially if you have to drive their to purchase, the cost of fuel outweighs the savings.

[AndyD]

As faras I know anybody with electricity consumption consistently below a certain threshold qualifies for the 50 free units every month. I get it and I'm not on asocial grant and I'm not a pensioner.