Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 13

Thread: Pre-paid Electricity Costs (Question )

  1. #1
    Email problem
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Cape Town
    Posts
    323
    Thanks
    87
    Thanked 24 Times in 22 Posts

    Pre-paid Electricity Costs (Question )

    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

  2. #2
    Diamond Member AndyD's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Cape Town
    Posts
    4,923
    Thanks
    576
    Thanked 934 Times in 755 Posts
    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.
    _______________________________________________

    _______________________________________________

  3. #3
    Suspended
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Had enough
    Posts
    3,358
    Thanks
    114
    Thanked 213 Times in 201 Posts
    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.

  4. #4
    Diamond Member Justloadit's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Johannesburg
    Posts
    3,480
    Thanks
    134
    Thanked 695 Times in 593 Posts
    Blog Entries
    1
    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
    Victor - Knowledge is a blessing or a curse, your current circumstances make you decide!
    Solar pumping, Solar Geyser & Solar Security lighting solutions - www.microsolve.co.za

  5. #5
    Email problem
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Cape Town
    Posts
    323
    Thanks
    87
    Thanked 24 Times in 22 Posts
    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.

  6. #6
    Suspended
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Had enough
    Posts
    3,358
    Thanks
    114
    Thanked 213 Times in 201 Posts
    Can you tell us the reason, I am interested to hear if what I was told is similar to yours.

  7. #7
    Diamond Member AndyD's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Cape Town
    Posts
    4,923
    Thanks
    576
    Thanked 934 Times in 755 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Perform Computers View Post
    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.
    _______________________________________________

    _______________________________________________

  8. #8
    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Durban, South Africa
    Posts
    22,648
    Thanks
    3,304
    Thanked 2,676 Times in 2,257 Posts
    Blog Entries
    12
    Something to do with this step, I expect.
    Quote Originally Posted by Perform Computers View Post
    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.

  9. #9
    Suspended
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Had enough
    Posts
    3,358
    Thanks
    114
    Thanked 213 Times in 201 Posts
    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.

  10. #10
    Email problem
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Cape Town
    Posts
    323
    Thanks
    87
    Thanked 24 Times in 22 Posts
    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.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. November 2010 Paper 2 Exam Question 1 and Question 2 (ANSWERS)
    By Fikani2010 in forum Electrical Contracting Industry Forum
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 12-May-13, 10:49 PM
  2. Pre-Paid electricity @ R2.03/Unit
    By Slowmow in forum General Chat Forum
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 07-Jan-12, 10:22 AM
  3. Cut in ADSL costs on the way?
    By I Robot in forum Technology Forum
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 14-Jun-06, 12:30 PM

Did you like this article? Share it with your favourite social network.

Did you like this article? Share it with your favourite social network.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •