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Eskom want to upgrade my residential supply


Gerrie

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I got an SMS to say I need to upgrade my supply to avoid trips and outages. Anybody know what this is about? My Eskom connection was done in 2008 so it’s fairly new it’s a normal 60A single phase supply that only use about 100KWH per month what are they up to?DC915D69-ADE1-425C-943C-DCF413284AD0.thumb.png.b4e4a16947e15d928a564c69f9d05579.png

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33 minutes ago, Tariq said:

not sure about Alberton

This is for my holiday home in KZN, there I still have the spinning wheel type meter, I see on the above doc’s they mention software upgrade to pre-paid meters. Maybe they wrongly sent me the SMS unless they want to also change my wheely meter. I was actually hoping to install pv solar their and make it spin in reverse but looks like those plans are now gone.

In Alberton where I live I do have a pre-paid meter (Landis & Geyer) and endless problems to load tokens as it never except the token the first time. I have to load it about 20 times and try all scenarios of switching off equipment before it  eventually except the tokens.

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There is method behind the madness I think.

Eskom, coming door to door to "upgrade" meters is perhaps legitimate but I'm convinced it's a thinly veiled ruse to accomplish a few other things as well. Checking for tampering, improved tamper protection, checking for alternate power solutions employed (grid tied/hybrid etc) without "approval" and verifying if COC exists etc.

I'm going to have to make a plan when I get the notice. Going to disconnect my hybrid from the grid (DB) and hope that's enough to keep them off my back. 

Viva Revolution!

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5 hours ago, JoeyhZA said:

There is method behind the madness I think.

Eskom, coming door to door to "upgrade" meters is perhaps legitimate but I'm convinced it's a thinly veiled ruse to accomplish a few other things as well.

The part I don’t understand is Eskom say it’s not going to cost the customer anything, how will they afford this mammoth task and who is getting this tender that is being done for free. I think their statement made solar at least 30% cheaper over the next 2 years. 

5 hours ago, JoeyhZA said:

I'm going to have to make a plan when I get the notice. Going to disconnect my hybrid from the grid (DB) and hope that's enough to keep them off my back. 

Viva Revolution!

Viva, Viva more pv and battryyy! Here we come!

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yeah i also got notification from coct of this 'upgrade'.

i reckon this is a precursor for them moving towards time based tarriffs... ie where electricity costs more during peak times/evenings/winter. see this is why they asked for solar registrations. none of my neighbours have been scheduled for this "upgrade".

but no worries i guess i'll just buy more storage and be less reliant on them as possible.

Edited by MockTurtle
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On 2021/10/19 at 1:27 PM, Tariq said:

ok, that is too bad, guys with spinning meters are making a killing

Not all of them are capable of running backwards, mine dates 1978 ... [and it has the gear lock on it, not allowing running backwards].

I am however very close to the municipality owing me millions and millions, once it reaches 000 000 ... 😅

Edited by RabidBunny
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8 hours ago, MockTurtle said:

none of my neighbours have been scheduled for this "upgrade".

Neither my neighbours but I think in my case because my meter sometimes only reads about 10KWH per month due to the house being unoccupied, sometimes up to six months at a time and only my home alarm system is on and uses so little power, everything else is switched off, they probably have my address flagged as a faulty meter or tampered meter and now they want to upgrade to see if they can up their revenue on my home.

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On 2021/10/20 at 11:08 AM, MockTurtle said:

yeah i also got notification from coct of this 'upgrade'.

i reckon this is a precursor for them moving towards time based tarriffs... ie where electricity costs more during peak times/evenings/winter. see this is why they asked for solar registrations. none of my neighbours have been scheduled for this "upgrade".

but no worries i guess i'll just buy more storage and be less reliant on them as possible.

There is a documented issue with many brands of pre-paid meter that will run into trouble in 2024 because of some "feature" of the token generation system. You'd have thought we'd have learned from Y2k...

Also Eskom and municipalities are keen to move to TOU tariffs. These are notionally available in the City of Johannesburg, and in some areas supplied by Eskom, but you usually have to switch tariffs and get an upgraded meter. Plus Eskom are in a fight with NERSA about where the different time blocks should be set.

I wish COJ would let us know what they intend to do about pre-paid meters. I've heard about the issue, but haven't heard from them. On some brands of meter it is just a software upgrade and no change of meter is involved. But I wish the City would let us know what they intend to do about this.

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This pre-paid meter stuff may also just be that there are large losses to a syndicate of sorts that obtained a means of selling tokens for the meters and Eksdom dont see the sale. Nice way to block those token generating syndicates…..

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On 2021/10/20 at 8:35 PM, Gerrie said:

Neither my neighbours but I think in my case because my meter sometimes only reads about 10KWH per month due to the house being unoccupied, sometimes up to six months at a time and only my home alarm system is on and uses so little power, everything else is switched off, they probably have my address flagged as a faulty meter or tampered meter and now they want to upgrade to see if they can up their revenue on my home.

You can't fault them for keeping an eye on such things. Fraud pushes up the price for everybody, so we should want the utilities to be keeping an eye open.

I had City Power pay me a visit. I have a prepaid meter so they don't see the consumption reflected by the meter, but can infer it from how I load the meter. After I converted to solar I didn't load the meter for several months. This was noticed and they came to inspect. They looked at the meter and it's installation, were satisfied that the meter was working and that I hadn't bridged it, and they also noted the panels on my roof. They said thanks, left, and that was the last I heard of it.

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3 minutes ago, Bobster said:

You can't fault them for keeping an eye on such things. Fraud pushes up the price for everybody, so we should want the utilities to be keeping an eye open.

I had City Power pay me a visit. I have a prepaid meter so they don't see the consumption reflected by the meter, but can infer it from how I load the meter. After I converted to solar I didn't load the meter for several months. This was noticed and they came to inspect. They looked at the meter and it's installation, were satisfied that the meter was working and that I hadn't bridged it, and they also noted the panels on my roof. They said thanks, left, and that was the last I heard of it.

Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Do you have your installation registered? SSEG etc?

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Yea fraud. Go look at places that owe Billions of Randelas.... oh wait voting season.... Corruption so nothing will happen to them Billions.....

I may add that the same inspectors will not ever dare go visit those places.... Intimidation and discrimination by administrative process

Edited by Sarel
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2 hours ago, Sarel said:

Yea fraud. Go look at places that owe Billions of Randelas.... oh wait voting season.... Corruption so nothing will happen to them Billions.....

I may add that the same inspectors will not ever dare go visit those places.... Intimidation and discrimination by administrative process

I don't believe that Eskom are in cahoots with the ANC. Here's why: DA run COCT is able and allowed to provide some mitigation against load shedding. This is a feather in the cap of the DA and good propaganda for them.

ANC controlled Jhb recently announced that a deal with they'd done with the privately owned Kelvin power station would mean no load shedding at stages 1 or 2. Except they issued this statement unilaterally, using quite defiant language, and today Eskom slapped them down and the City has agreed to work with Eskom "in the interests of protecting the grid". 

Edited by Bobster
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You are of course welcome to your opinion. Eskom is one of the biggest voter buying agencies of the CancER. Average salary per individual across all pay grades, more than R 700 000.00 per year, on average! Chew on that some…. Most senior employees, and especially the board members, are cadres. I used to work on the inside as a consultant, I do know a few things and people there. Between the courts, the ruling party, the unions, Escam is the CancER, in my opinion. 

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2 hours ago, Bobster said:

You can't fault them for keeping an eye on such things. Fraud pushes up the price for everybody, so we should want the utilities to be keeping an eye open.

I agree we need Eskom to be on top of their game, if only they would get a small handheld KWH meter calibrator unit that could check 100’s of meters a day to see whether the meter measures accurate or is somehow bypassed. That way they can focus on problems and don’t have to change all working meters left and right driving operating costs up.

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14 minutes ago, Gerrie said:

I agree we need Eskom to be on top of their game, if only they would get a small handheld KWH meter calibrator unit that could check 100’s of meters a day to see whether the meter measures accurate or is somehow bypassed. That way they can focus on problems and don’t have to change all working meters left and right driving operating costs up.

My understanding is that in most cases they just upgrade the firmware on the meter.  That will cost, of course. It will also cost the municipalities who have some of the estimated 8 million pre-paid users in the country. But that's cheaper than employing people AND replacing the meters.
 

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If you reason with logic, that would indeed be the case. Problem tho is nothing is reasoned with logic. If that was the case, Nersa, Escam and the CancER would have implemented net metering, period. Escam would have stopped all the illegal connections, period. They would have used SAPS and prosecuted people with illegal connections. They would have ensured that local councils pay their bills. 
 

Further, if logic was used, Escam would not be operated, allowed, no encouraged by example, to pillage and steal like they are. The generating plant and distribution and transmission equipment would be well maintained, serviced and operated. So no, they are none of that. I know. Ted Blom knows and so does Chris Yelland. Read up on the Karpowership fiasco. Look at Medupi and Kusile, I was on those sites while consulting to them. The designs are wrong, why, because of kadres and contracts with the CancER and Letuli house and the boiler manufacturers. 
 

Logic, my arse, cancer yes….

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