All we have ever had from day one is an unfitted , unregistered meter that needs the power company to install. I was concerned we would get a whopping big bill even though we are nearly off the grid now with our solar.
Time For A happy Dance As No Backdated Amount Outstanding
It is not exactly normal to celebrate receiving a utility bill, but this has bee hanging over my head for a few years now. This has been reported on so many occasions I have lost count. It turns out the previous owners had created the problem and when we purchased the property we were told the account was up to date which is part of the sale agreement.
On day one when we moved in we asked for a pay as you go meter as it showed on the system we were a pay as you go household yet the electricity was on without the meter. Sounds great, but when you are trying to get this solved over a number of years this becomes problematic as in the back of your mind you wonder if they are going to charge you for the may months of free electricity. Sometimes it is in your favor when the services are so slack and in this case this was a big win financially for us even though it was purely innocent.
Many people said I should have just kept quiet including an electrician which I called out and paid to make sure we were compliant and not having an illegal connection somehow. All the official seals were and still are intact and the blame firmly lied with the electricity company.
Time For A happy Dance As No Backdated Amount Outstanding
I have had a lush fund set aside just in case which was actually a big number as I expected we owed a genuine R300K or $16K. When we received the bill asking for a mere R4K ($220) for January and February I was very happy and now with the solar working this number is going to drop dramatically.
I now feel legal which is peace of mind knowing that there will be no surprises with an unexpected knock on the door questioning us why we have not paid. Still the last time I was in their offices was December 17th which is 3 months ago and how long they have taken to fix this issue which has been on going for roughly 5 years now and possibly longer if you include the previous property owners.
The madness is the electricity company has so much outstanding unpaid electricity bills owing to them what chance do they have if customers like myself who want to pay, but can't due to not existing on their system.
I have always believed in doing the right thing eve if it casts you in a bad light because these days most people judge you as guilty before they know all the facts. If I had just left this without continually asking to get this fixed this could have become a more serious issue down the line. Going off the grid has helped but when it came to selling the property you still need a piece of paper showing you have a zero balance and are compliant.