Eskom & City Power push for smart meters in Soweto

Me just thinking aloud. Go easy on me, I plead!

I have been constantly hearing and reading stories about Eskom and City Power contemplating, or are already in the process of, installing Smart Meters all over ekasi, whether we like it or not.

Methinks that this is not a wise move at all. It is bound to fall on its face before it is even launched. That is my two cents’ worth. Facts speak for themselves though.

Eskom and City Power are infamous for not doing things by the book. To start with, their customer service stinks to high heaven.

The end user is always sent from pillar to post whenever they bring their gripe about poor service. They are treated indifferently by those behind the help desks at walk-ins or call centres.

A good service provider should  always know that “Customer is King”. A customer always wants the best value for their money.

Ordinary folks ekasi want reliable and uninterrupted electricity supply service to help them cope with their daily existence. And when there are issues with the service rendered, they need to know who to turn to – to have their problems resolved.

The thinking behind this apathic treatment of customers is based on the fact that township residents do not want to pay for electricity or any service, for that matter. The opposite is true. Umphakathi has no qualms about paying for basic amenities. Provide good service and they will meet you halfway.

As things stand, expecting good service from Eskom or City Power is like wringing water from a stone. Both of them bazokuHurder!

With the proposed new system, both service providers are trying to strike fear into the hearts of abahlali that their electricity supply will be switched on and off remotely through a smart meter system that will be installed in each house. This is intended to make customers use power sparingly, so we are told.

Through smart meters, electricity guzzlers like your geysers, stoves and other essential power points will be turned on and off from a control centre, if both distributors feel that the grid is overloaded at any given time. You will only be able to use minimum power to run your lights, a TV set and a Wi-Fi router. Convince me otherwise, this is make-believe.

Officials from both these service providers are doing their damnedest to try and persuade us that they mean well with this hard sell. If people on the ground soon find out that this is nothing but a scam, Eskom and City Power are courting danger.

We all are aware that the country is in the throes of a power crisis, most of which is self-made. Regular power outages wreak havoc in every aspect of our daily existence.

So, with this smart meter nonsense, are you not compounding the already existing problem? Proponents of this scheme will be left with egg on their faces as this will further agitate the already gatvol end user.

This extravagant and wasteful expenditure project, if implemented, will cause an angry backlash from those on the receiving end of this high-voltage equation.

Look around you, the electricity supply infrastructure leaves much to be desired. It is in tatters, to say the least.

Street lights, substations and transformers are vandalised on a daily basis and power cables stolen left, right and centre as izinyoka and scrapyard owners rule the roost.

How do you introduce this new technology, and hope it will work seamlessly under such conditions?

First things first, do a feasibility study to determine whether what you are intending to do [installing smart meters in this instance] is technically viable, and local communities buy into your idea.

Clean up the mess, fix what is broken and make sure your ducks are in a row before you roll out your proposed plan. Your plan should be fool-proof and do not ram it down people’s throats.

I am not convinced that this project has all the good intentions it purports. It has all the hallmarks of a gimmick used by  greedy tenderpreneurs to “loot the gravy train” written all over it. So, I will not buy into this smart meter claptrap. It is a damp squib.

It looks like a money-spinning attempt by the fat cats to “eat” and line their pockets one last time. Phela, 2024 is just around the corner, and these people need to have something to fall back on when they find themselves in the political wilderness.

Mzansi, open your eyes and see this for what it is: the higher-ups are trying to sell us a pig in a poke.