Sol Plaatje residents have been encouraged to report tuck shop owners adding additional charges to prepaid electricity purchases as it’s illegal to charge any more than the prescribed cost.

It has come to the Kimberley-based municipality’s attention that tuck shop owners have been selling prepaid electricity with an additional R1 or R2 charge to residents.

“The practice of charging residents an extra R1, R2, etc. when purchasing electricity tokens is illegal and contravenes the Electricity Regulation Act and may discriminate against classes of categories and/or between customers’ access to electricity, tariffs, prices and condition of service,” said Sol Plaatje spokesperson Thabo Mothibi

The municipality encourages residents to refuse to pay extra fees for ‘printing’ or ‘paper’ at additional cost.

“Report all vending service providers who request them to do so to the local authorities and municipal by-law enforcement offices,”

This is a fraudulent activity and will not be tolerated, and sellers committing this activity will be dealt with in correlation to the law.

Residents faced with this issue are encouraged to report the activity to their nearest municipality and/or police station with the name, surname, and location of the shop that is overcharging them.

Meanwhile, the municipality introduced a handheld meter-reading device implemented on Thursday (1/8). It will improve accuracy and efficiency, faster service delivery, enhance transparency, and improve GPS integration.

This is part of their new implementation plan which includes moving to allowing residents the opportunity to send in their readings via a website that’s under construction.

To report any illegal or suspected electricity issues, residents can contact the municipality on 053 8306 731 or 053 8306 565.

OFM News dg