Eskom in hot water over billing ‘mistakes’
Yvonne Booysen,(74) an elderly woman who lives in Gousblom street in Belhar with her disabled son (59) for the last 45 years has been slapped with a R223 000 electricity bill by Eskom, sparking outrage from her neighbours. Picture Henk Kruger/African News Agency (ANA) Yvonne Booysen,(74) an elderly woman who lives in Gousblom street in Belhar with her disabled son (59) for the last 45 years has been slapped with a R223 000 electricity bill by Eskom, sparking outrage from her neighbours. Picture Henk Kruger/African News Agency (ANA)
Eskom faces a possible class-action lawsuit after some customers received exorbitant electricity bills - including an elderly woman who faces a bill of over R200 000 and a threat to cut off her supply.
The bill, the latest in a debacle with the state utility, has sparked outrage and fears that it will meet the same fate as other complaints - non-action from Eskom, despite the matter having been raised with the regulatory body, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa).
Although Nersa said the matter was under mediation, some residents who had previously raised billing concerns with Eskom and the regulator, questioned whether any resolution would be found soon.
The latest incident involved a bill of R223 000 for Yvonne Booysen. The 74-year-old pensioner, who lives with her disabled son, received the bill in May despite having paid previous “suspicious” accounts, some of which amounted to R5 000 and R10 000.
A video clip showing technicians trying to locate Booysen’s meter through a muddle of electrical wires showed they could not find a meter for her home.
Booysen’s neighbour, Wendy Manuel van der Poll, said: “Mrs Booysen brought the bill to me as she was upset and confused. We then went through her previous ones and the figures looked suspicious. Now how do you explain the bills that she had been receiving when a meter that was supposed to reflect her consumption was never attached to the breaker? We can only conclude the figures we receive are a thumb-suck.”
The matter was escalated to Nersa after Eskom refused to look into the matter and insisted its “system genererated” bill was correct.
A few days after their initial attempt to disconnect Booysen failed, Eskom technicians were sent again, this time with a meter that was allegedly taken from someone else’s property.
Van der Poll said when Eskom officials were asked what would now happen to the owner of the meter, Eskom officials responded “nonchalantly” that they would wait until the owner showed up to lay a complaint.
“This is worrying because this person will be billed without a meter, a thumb-sucking bill, similar to what Booysen has experienced.”
Meetings were held between the parties after Booysen asked for Nersa’s intervention, but so far the matter had yet to be resolved.
Communication between Nersa and Eskom officials, which Weekend Argus has seen, show the frustration experienced by Nersa after documents that were suppose to be made available by the utility were not submitted.
In an email, a Nersa official told Eskom: “You need to appreciate the fact that you are regulated and thus you need to comply at all times. We are reaching a stage that we feel we should escalate this matter and the behaviour thereof to the higher structures of Eskom At all times customers should (sic) be suffering due to negligence on Eskom’s side.”
Eskom and Nersa refused to comment on the Booysen matter, claiming that it was under mediation.
Van der Poll said a lawsuit could resolve the issues as other customers had started querying their accounts. She asked residents who had similar concerns to call her on 0219530408 or email: [email protected]