Zesa under fire for estimated bills
Saturday, 17 April 2010 16:34
IMAGINE you have not had electricity at your house since February last year but every month you receive bills based on estimated meter readings. Some of the bills could be as high as US$640, yet you do not even earn half that amount.
In any other country, such bills would be unimaginable but welcome to the world where the power utility, Zesa, rules.
Since the use of multiple currencies started last year, customers and the utility have been at loggerheads over the high bills being charged by the parastatal.
Customers contend that the huge bills are based on estimates when actual meter readings would have solved the problem.
The dispute spilled into a stakeholders meeting held recently where customers ripped the power utility apart for what they viewed as “daylight robbery”.
The meeting was organised by the Competition and Tariff Commission after it had received an avalanche of complaints from residents over the power utility’s abuse of its monopoly.
Another meeting was held at the Large City Hall to get feedback from Bulawayo residents.
The Combined Harare Residents Association (Chra) opened the floodgates accusing the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (Zetdc) of short-changing residents “by inflating estimate meter readings which are always far off from the actual readings”.
Zetdc is a transmission and distribution arm of Zesa.
To Chra, the power utility is extorting poor residents to sustain itself. It’s a strong accusation but the body has case studies.
“Residents in the following streets: Nyangombe, Makwiro, Mwenezi, Tugwe and Shamba last had electricity on 4 July 2009 because their transformer was burnt out and Zesa can acknowledge that but consumers have been receiving shocking bills amounting between US$120 to US$150 based on estimates even though the service is non-existent,” the group said.
“In Zororo area (Dzivarasekwa 3) a transformer was burnt out on 15 September 2009 and replaced on 21 January but Zesa has been charging these residents for electricity consumption for that period despite the fact that they did not receive electricity.”
Chra said it had resolved that there would be no payments where there is no exchange of value.
“Residents should not pay for non-existent services,” it said. Residents are not lying low and have already built a buffer in the event of litigation by the power utility.
They are even planning to go for the jugular: conduct peaceful protests at Zesa offices and campaign for total electricity payments boycott in Harare and neighbouring towns. On Zesa’s charge sheet is the unprofessional manner in which it engages customers.
Ollis Munetsi, representing the Bindura Residents’ Association, said the power utility’s employees have become “war-like” breaking into secured meter boxes with bolt cutters in a bid to switch off residents.
He said they had written a letter to the power utility identifying individuals whose properties had been vandalised “and hope that the powers that be take us seriously for once”.
The Commercial Farmers’ Union said it had been inundated with calls from members complaining against the high bills ranging from US$11 000 to US$44 000 per month.
It said it advised members to stop paying the bills. When they confronted the power utility, the bills were significantly reviewed.
The Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union (ZFU) said the power utility was switching off farmers without even giving a notice.
ZFU second vice-president Berean Mukwende warned that power cuts would affect winter wheat production this season.
Enerst Muchayi, Zetdc managing director said the billing system crashed last year and they engaged a company to work on the system.
Work on the system commenced in August and by November it was running. He said the major challenge was on meter readings and the company had now resorted to using estimates to calculate bills.
“Those estimates to tell you the truth, we haven’t explained it ourselves, we just haven’t,” he confessed.
He pleaded with residents to pay whatever amount they have in the meantime until the actual meter readings were carried out.
“I can actually say to you pay me what you want today. . . pay me whatever six months down the line I can read the meter and if you have used more we can reconcile,” he said.
Muchayi said Zetdc was owed US$347 million in unpaid bills and some of the consumers had not paid a dime since last year.
According to Muchayi 73 000 customers in Harare (about 35%) have never paid for electricity consumed since February last year.
In Bulawayo 28 000 of the 127 000 had not paid the power utility. He said Zetdc has been struggling to pay its suppliers which include the Zimbabwe Power Company (Zpc) and regional utilities.
It owes Zpc US$156 million and US$100 million to the regional utilities. Muchayi told stakeholders the company required US$383 million to operate efficiently “then we can talk of adequate and reliable power supply” but said Zetdc cannot approach regional utilities because of the debts.
“How can I go to Cabora Bassa (of Mozambique) when I owe them US$70 million,” he questioned.
Does he believe that the power utility should charge for a service not rendered?
“Why should I charge you something you have not consumed, it can’t be fair?”BY NDAMU SANDU