Pre-paid meter over charging?

[murdock]

in durban the rate per kw for the average household scale 3 & 4 ....106.83 cents /kw and you dont qualify for the 65 kw free electrity

my question when i apply for my pre paid mete ris going to be ...do i qualify for the rate below considering i have consumed less than 150 kw over a 6 month period todate and by the time i sort this issue out it will be 12 months

what is regarded as an "indigent customer" do i qualify ?



Description of tariff : This is a single rate tariff without a fixed service charge
Typical customers : Low Consumption - Free Basic Electricity
Type Of metering : Pre-Payment
Tariff Rates Applicable for : 2011/2012 Financial Year
Description Of Charge VAT incl
Energy Rate 71.54 81.56
Energy Charge : The energy charge is a flat rate charge
Service Charge The service charge is built into the energy charge therefore a separate service
charge is not applicable
General This tariff is currently available to indigent customers who consume less than 150kWh per month.
All customers on this tariff will be eligible to 65 kwh of free on a monthly basis. An online monitoring
system is currently in place that identifies qualifying customers based on their previous history.

[Dave A]

indigent [ˈɪndɪdʒənt]
adj
1. so poor as to lack even necessities; very needy
2. (usually foll by of) Archaic lacking (in) or destitute (of)
n
an impoverished person
[from Latin indigēre to need, from egēre to lack]

[murdock]

indigent [ˈɪndɪdʒənt]
adj
1. so poor as to lack even necessities; very needy
2. (usually foll by of) Archaic lacking (in) or destitute (of)
n
an impoverished person

[from Latin indigēre to need, from egēre to lack]

thanks for clearing that up dave

ok so i qualify then becuase i am lack nessities and i am very needy

i have nessities like a new super bike...bigger house...more money...a younger wife...more holidays...trips around the world and i could just go on and on....and my wife said i am very needy...

jokes aside...looks like i dont fall into that catergory...as much as i am going thru a difficult time i dont lack anything and as some people have mentioned to me "i dont know how you do it"...the way i see it i am better off than 100 million people in africa and dont lack anything just need to adjust my lifestyle for a while...and when i look at the pictures on the news last night of people in real need...i feel ashamed that i could want for any more than i already have...i look at how the people in south africa complain and then look how those people in other parts of afica live...we should be ashamed of ourselves for the way we carry on...just want more and more and more

i hear people saying what they would do with 100 million lotto if they won it...honestly i would spend a little money making my parents lives a little more comfortable for their remaining years then i would pay off the my house and any out standing debt...which would leave me with around 99. 5 million then i would personally take the balance of the money hire a plane and take as much food to those people who need it more than anyone else...because that would have been the reason i won it...not to waste on material objects for myself.

[mother]

Just over a year ago, I think it was 37c a Kw, now it is 69c a Kw and there has just been a recent 30% increase as from the 1st of June.

I pay between R1.11 (at Pick n Pay) and R1.27 (at the Sasol garage) per unit. That's been the price for a couple of months now, so a price increase is not the reason for my enormous expense. I compared my little 2 bedroom unit's consumption with my parents' municipal bill (they have 3 occupied houses on their property, and everything is computerised to open/close switch on/off automatically) ... we both use around 900 kW per month. (Funny you should also mention 900kW, Greg).

I had a good look at my geyser last night, and it seems perfect, no leaks, no noises, nothing. Thermostat was on 60, I now turned it down to 50 (lets see if it helps). And I checked our consumption for last night, between midnight and 06h00, while we were asleep, we used 9kW - WHAT FOR?!

I am all obsessed now with finding the answer. I have started a table, and I am taking readings and making notes of what is on and what is off. Fun and games, I tell you!

[AndyD]

while we were asleep, we used 9kW - WHAT FOR?!

I'm guessing you mean 9 kWh.

Heating (under floor, panel heaters etc)
Geyser element
Geyser timer clock
Cellphone and laptop chargers
Cordless house phone system
Server
PC's / computers running
Any external USB devices plugged into a computer
Hi-Fi, DVD player, TV, stove, microwave etc on standby
Satellite decoder
Analogue TV mast amplifier
House alarm/fire system
Electric fence
Motorized gate battery charger
Motorized garage door battery charger
Ceiling fans
Bedroom toys
Pool pump / chlorinator / pool light / pool timer clock
Irrigation controller / battery charger / Tank liquid level sensing equip
Borehole/wellpoint pump
Porch lighting, boundary lighting, security lighting
Electric blanket
Radio alarm clock
Plug-in mosquito repeller
ADSL router / switch

are a few things that spring to mind immediately.

[Justloadit]

All the electronic stuff put together excluding heaters and pumps would draw somewhere under a one Kwatt hour, so there you have already 6Kwatts, so another 500watts an hour used somewhere.

Get yourself an OWL -to monitor in real time your consumption. You can then switch circuit breakers off to see what is actually consuming the power.

[mother]

Oh goodie! I like checklists! Thanks Andy.

I'm guessing you mean 9 kWh.

Heating (under floor, panel heaters etc) - None
Geyser element - I suppose yes
Geyser timer clock - I suppose yes
Cellphone and laptop chargers - None plugged in
Cordless house phone system - No
Server - No
PC's / computers running - Switched off
Any external USB devices plugged into a computer - No
Hi-Fi, DVD player, TV, stove, microwave etc on standby - Switched off, not on standby
Satellite decoder - On standby
Analogue TV mast amplifier - erm, what?
House alarm/fire system - None
Electric fence - None
Motorized gate battery charger - None
Motorized garage door battery charger - None
Ceiling fans - Definitely off
Bedroom toys - hehehehe all off
Pool pump / chlorinator / pool light / pool timer clock - None
Irrigation controller / battery charger / Tank liquid level sensing equip - None
Porch lighting, boundary lighting, security lighting - All off
Electric blanket - None
Radio alarm clock - None
Plug-in mosquito repeller - None
ADSL router / switch - Ok this was on
Fridge & Freezer both on
are a few hings that spring to mind immediately.

I guess I'll have to invest in that bird then...

[Sparks]

7-9kWh is what mine is on average: 2 geysers; 3TVs' on standby; 1TV on; PC on standby; router on and about 200W lighting all night.
My average cost pm is about R450-R600 depending on how much we use the 2 ovens. Having a gas hob does help. The washing machine, huge automatic, runs nearly every day as here is a two-year old.

[AndyD]

.....nothing ridiculous or leaking.

This got me thinking how much the earth leakage of your electrical installation could cost you.

If your earth leakage is 30mA and your breaker is just hanging in then
30/1000x220
gives you a 6.6 watt load
6.6/1000 = 0.0066kW times 744 hours in a month = 4.91 units of electricity (kWh)
So your earth leakage fault current could cost you up to about R6.00/ month depending on your tariff.

Sorry, not very relevant, I was just bored

[bergie]

what about stuff thats not connected to earth leakage relay.geyser?could be quite relevant.