Customer Service Your electricity meter is a device used to records the number of units (Kilowatt hours) of electricity you have used. If you have never read your meter before the instruction below would easily make you an expert. Reading your meter will help you budget for your electricity bill.
You can be confident of the accuracy of your electricity meter. It is a precision instrument, certified before installation by the manufacturers and our Meter Inspectors.
There are basically two kinds of meters: the digital meter and the dial meter.
DIGITAL METERS
These are the modern types of meters. The number of units used is shown by a row of figures. Always remember that the reading on a digital meter is the total number of units used since connected.
If and when the total number of units recorded exceeds 99,999 the meter starts again at 0 (just like the mileage indicator on a car).
To read a digital meter, write down the numbers shown from left to right. Ignore the last figure marked in red. When you next read your meter subtract the previous reading from the new. This will give you the number of units used or consumed.This is generally and is shown under the heading COMSUMPTION on your bill.
DIAL METERS
Reading this type of meter is more complicated, but after a little practice you'll find it quite straightforward.
When reading your dial meter, always remember that adjacent dials revolve in opposite directions. Ignore the dial marked 1/10 (it's only there for testing purposes) and read the other five dials from left to right.
Points to note
a) Always write down the number the pointer has passed (this is not necessarily the nearest number to the pointer). So if the pointer is anywhere between, say, 4 and 5, write down 4.
b) If the pointer is directly over a figure, say 5, write down that figure and underline it 5.
c) The sample meter reading shown will be 4 5 9 2 8. This reading now requires adjusting to eliminate small variations in the pointer position.
d) Look at the figures underlined. If one of these is followed by a 9, reduce the underlined figure by 1. The new reading will be 44928.
As with the digital meter, when you've worked out the reading, subtract the previous reading shown on your bill to find the number of units of electricity used.
Our Meter Reading
Information is downloaded daily into the handheld and given to the meter reader who visits each customer and records the reading.
Information on the handheld includes:
• Account number
• Customer name
• Address
• Meter number
Blank spaces are left on the handheld for meter readers to record:
• Meter reading
• Fault code (for any meter fault or malfunction noticed)
Billing
Customers are grouped into areas, which are further grouped into cycles with approximately nine (9) areas comprising a cycle. Bills are processed by cycles.
Readings are uploaded and billed to the account. At the end of each cycle a billing proof is produced .The billing proof gives details of all accounts in the cycle with the current and previous three months and average monthly readings. Also included is a record of all accounts whose readings show a 20% fluctuation from what was last recorded. Meters that are not read are automatically estimated on an average of their last three previous readings.
After the billing proof is checked and all necessary corrections are made, the bills for that cycle are produced.