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Thread: Private Prepaid Electrical Meters good or bad

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    Private Prepaid Electrical Meters good or bad

    Hi installed a Private Prepaid Electrical Meter into my Granny Flat. Now my tenants have to pay in advance before consuming electricity. Once I receive payment from my tenant i send them via SMS or Email a unique recharge token number. All they have to do is punch the number into their meter and they have electricity. I think it's an excellent way of preventing tenants from abusing electricity and not paying final bills when they vacate premises.

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Now that sounds like a really fine idea!

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    Our house has a prepaid meter and it is really great — no worrying about the municipality billing the incorrect amount, etc. Definitely what I would want if I was renting out (especially for a granny flat on my property!)

    I'm not sure about the contents of your lease, but you could probably make it even simpler (for yourself) by just letting them buy their own electricity. I normally use EasyPay to buy electricity, but it can also be purchased from shop tills and so on (can't remember all the places off the top of my head).
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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dsd View Post
    I'm not sure about the contents of your lease, but you could probably make it even simpler (for yourself) by just letting them buy their own electricity.
    That works if the electrical supply authority will provide a seperate supply. But there are times when they don't. Also, some metros are holding the owner responsible for unpaid electrical bills run up by tenants.

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    The best thing to do is to install a private prepaid meter after the municple meter. Transfer the municple account from the tenant to the landlord. Then the tenant has to pay the landlord for all electricity consumed. The landlord inturn pays the munciplality and there is never any outstanding electrical bills.

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    Quote Originally Posted by TJFASA View Post
    The best thing to do is to install a private prepaid meter after the municple meter. Transfer the municple account from the tenant to the landlord. Then the tenant has to pay the landlord for all electricity consumed. The landlord inturn pays the munciplality and there is never any outstanding electrical bills.
    Okay, I misunderstood. So you actually have a normal municipal account and the prepaid meter piggy backs onto that? How does that work exactly?
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    You cant remove the munciple meter but you can turn the premises into your own private prepaid system if the premises is being rented. This means that the landlord has the munic account in his name and the tenant has to pay the landlord in advance for electricity.

    The landlord installs a prepaid meter after the munic meter and issues the tenant with unique recharge tokens. Tokens are programed to that meter only and are only obtainable from the landlord.

    If the landlord lives in a different location, once payment is received he can SMS, Email or fax the token to his tenant.

    The Tenant punches the number on the token into the keypad of the meter and energizes the meter for the value of the token. Tokens are sold in differnt amounts such as R50.00 , R100.00 etc.

    A third party can also collect revenue from tenants and issue the tokens on behalf of a Landlord- Revenue Management.

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    just me duncan drennan's Avatar
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    Where exactly do you (the landlord) get the tokens from?
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    We supply the meter and sell the tokens to the landlord for R2.00 each. The landlord nominates the values he wants on his tokens. Usually they buy 100 tokens at a time which lasts that meter several months. When the tenant buys electricity from the landlord say for a value of R 100.00 he will also be charged R2.00 for the cost of the token.

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    We supply the meter and the tokens to the landlord. When the tokens run out only the landlord can purchase them from us.

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