GEORGE NEWS - An article on the deduction of prepaid electricity to collect municipal tax debt had some residents in a tiff - not over the electricity, but the water.
There had been some confusion regarding the wording in an extract of George Municipality's latest Customer Care, Credit Collection and Debt Collection policy: "All consumers with electricity and water in arrears shall be converted to prepaid meters and flow restrictors."
Some residents are afraid that they will receive prepaid water meters, or that smart water meters might be changed at some point for prepaid water meters, which they believe will give the municipality a way to regulate the flow of water to just a dribble if they don't pay their municipal taxes on time.
It is important to clarify the wording in the extract as follows: should electricity fall in arrears, a prepaid meter will be installed; should water payments fall in arrears, flow restrictors will be installed.
No prepaid water meters
"George Municipality does not have prepaid water meters and we do not have any plans to install or make use of prepaid water meters," said spokesperson Chantèl Edwards.
"The digital or smart water meters that have been installed cannot restrict water flow in any way. Digital water meters simply allow for remote reading and monitoring of usage for billing purposes, and early detection of and response to leakages. Installation of digital water meters is ongoing."
Flow restrictors
Water supply may be restricted to 6kl per month through the installation of a flow restrictor. "This is standard practice and has been in use at municipalities for many decades," said Edwards.
"The purposes of restricting water supply is to comply with the requirements of the Municipal Systems Act and municipal by-laws when a consumer's account is in arrears. Water supply cannot be disconnected as the Constitution makes it a basic human right to receive water, although municipalities must also adhere to various pieces of legislation that govern the supply and restriction of water.
"Water flow restrictions, and recovery of debt through and blocking of prepaid electricity through prepaid electricity meters are all standard steps in the credit control and debt collection process. Delivery of 14-day disconnection notices and the handover for legal proceedings are also part of the credit control process."
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