Property owners should beware of smart meter con

Property owners should not grant anyone access to their homes for the installation of the smart prepaid meters.

City of Tshwane spokesman Selby Bokaba said legitimate smart prepaid meter contractors did not require any access to the customer's property.

Following the successful installation of smart meters at business premises last year, the city has shifted the roll-out to households, starting in Pretoria east. There is no cost to consumers for the smart meter or its installation. It is carried by the city's service provider.

Smart meters form part of the city's security of revenue project and will allow for automated meter reading, data management, data processing and analysis.

The new meters have anti-tampering technology and tamper alarms linked to the city's system, which will help to reduce energy theft.

They create a more efficient electricity grid, which will benefit customers, the economy and the city.

However, the installation process is being hijacked by bogus installers. This has prompted the community policing forum (CPF) in the Brooklyn precinct to warn communities not to allow access to anyone for installation of meters or electricity work until the City of Tshwane clarified how its legitimate contractors could be identified.

The decision taken last week was triggered by criminal incidents involving the bogus contractors.

The meeting heard that areas such as Lynnwood, Menlo Park, Waterkloof and Ashlea Gardens were exposed to criminal activities due to the installation of the prepaid meters. The crimes were perpetrated by a group of men travelling in a white bakkie.

They produced "proof " that they worked for the metro, and in this way, gained access to closed areas and homes.

CPF member Thys Snyman said in November, an elderly resident was held up and her house ransacked by bogus meter installers in Lynnwood. Several household items were taken.

Last month there were four other reports of people trying to gain access into homes by pretending to be from the City of Tshwane and tasked with installing the meters, Snyman said. "There is also a group in Monument Park that take out circuit breakers and knock on the doors a few hours later offering to replace them and restore power at a fee. They too have letters on Tshwane letterheads," he explained.

Snyman said another elderly resident in Maroelana had two men at her gate at 10pm but refused to allow them in.

They too had letters printed on Tshwane letterheads.

Menlo Park hairdresser Grezentia Mason said a man approached her while another remained outside and told her they wanted to install a prepaid meter.

"They said they would have to turn off the power for 20 minutes to install the meter. This would not have been good for business, so I did not allow them. The man had a white identification card with his face on it. I do not recall seeing a Tshwane logo on the card.

"I suggested we schedule an appointment, but he refused, saying the work had to be done at that moment.

"I stood my ground and as he was leaving he stated that he would, in his report, tell the city that he could not get access to my property," she said, adding that only later on did she learn of bogus contractors who were preying on residents.

Ward councillor Siobhan Muller said the community expected contractors to at least be in a clearly identified vehicle and have valid City of Tshwane identity cards, plus proof that the house was to have a smart meter installed on that day.

Bokaba cautioned residents to beware of the criminals masquerading as prepaid electricity smart meter installers.

He said all meter installation activity for residential customers was conducted on the street and no access was required to the house or boundary area.

Where a meter was within the customer's boundary or inside the house, the City of Tshwane would make arrangements to relocate it into a street side enclosure, he said.

"In future, on the day of the switch and after a successful installation of the smart meter, we will send contractors to each property to install the customer interface unit.

"But this will not happen until April and May. A separate process will be put in place to advise customers of this activity," said Bokaba.

Pretoria News