LANDLORD CHARGING UTILITIES

[Justloadit]

Is the landlord sending you an invoice, indicating the number of units used, and a charge per unit, or is he simply giving you a total of R XX.xx for electricity?

You can contact Nersa and lay a complaint. As per the previous post, no one besides ESKOM, the municipality or bulk seller has the right to mark up the electricity cost, as this is legislated.

From their manual referring to "Guide lines for Electricity Sale"

The reseller is not entitled to recover the cost of running their own electricity business through the charges that are made for electricity.
These are separate from the resale costs – they are costs that the reseller incurs in maintaining their property and administering their own contracts with the end customers.
These are not subject to the resale tariff.

The guidelines allow the following persons or businesses to be excluded from being regarded as resellers:
12.1. property owners who do not have a bulk point but supplies electricity to different units on their property;
12.2. property owners with tenants where the electricity portion is part of the fixed rental cost and no profit is made or where electricity is supplied as a community service; and
12.3. persons or businesses who rent at one site or to a defined group of customers, and who have no intention of expanding their electricity sales.

Laying of complaints

11. COMPLAINTS AND DISPUTE PROCEDURE
Between the Customer and Reseller
11.1. If the customer has a complaint about tariffs, billing or service quality, the customer should first raise their concerns with the reseller. If the complaint cannot be resolved, the customer may raise its complaint with the licensed authority. If the complaint can still not be resolved, the matter may be referred to NERSA.
11.2. The reseller must provide a complaint facility or service point for customers. The customer’s invoice or statement must contain the details on how to access the complaint facility or service point. The details should also be reflected in the service agreement with the licensed authority upon registration.
NERSA-467-58 GUIDELINES ON ELECTRICITY RESALE Page | 13
Between the Reseller and Licensed Authority
11.3. If there is a dispute between the reseller and the licensed authority, it should first be raised between the two parties. If the dispute cannot be resolved, the matter may be referred to NERSA.