Residents of Lavender Hill, Steenberg and Retreat embarked on a week of protests to voice their anger at newly-installed electricity meters which they say have caused the price of their units to surge.

A protest had turned violent in Lavender Hill last Monday, September 23, when police clashed with residents who refused to disperse.

Since then the communities committed to continue protesting peacefully every day in the last week, on the corner of Prince George Drive and Joe Marks Boulevard in Lavender Hill.

Sophia Absolom, spokesperson for 021 Community Action Group, said after meetings with the City on August 28, September 3 and September 11 did not bear fruit, the community decided to have a peaceful protest on Monday September 23 in Joe Marks Boulevard.

Ms Absolom said the community wanted to protest until 6pm, on Monday but law enforcement asked them to disperse.

The community decided to split into two groups but said law enforcement “nudged the women with their fists in the women's backs and pushed them over the road.”

Rubber bullets were shot in the air by law enforcement and teargas canisters were thrown at the crowd.

Ms Absolom said the youth of the area heard the shots and came to defend their elders. “The youth started throwing stones and burning tyres and causing havoc. This was not what we envisioned, we wanted a peaceful protest.”

Police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg said: “Steenberg police are investigating an attack on police and public violence cases following protest action on the corner of Prince George Drive and Joe Marks Boulevard on Monday September 23. According to reports police members were monitoring a service delivery protest when it became violent. Protesters blockaded the roadway with burning tyres and threw stones at vehicles. Police action was taken to disperse the crowd.”

At one of the meetings on September 3, a few grievances had been drafted in a memorandum to Mayoral committee member for energy, Xanthea Limberg.

The main grievance was the new electricity meters, which have been installed since February.

Ms Absolom said that with the old electricity boxes the residents could buy, for example, R300 to R400 worth of electricity units per month.

“But the new box has a system that if you buy an amount of R400 one month and decide not to buy the next month then the City classified that as tampering with the boxes,” said Ms Absolom.

Residents said they had asked Ms Limberg to define what constituted tampering and two technicians had tried to explain how this works but failed to do so.

Resident Nazma Samodien, 59, said she used to be able to survive on R40 a day for electricity with the old meter but now needs R120 a day.

Ms Samodien said the electricity boxes had been installed without any public participation.

Adele Campbell, a community leader, said the meeting on September 3 was held with residents of Manenberg, Hanover Park, Bonteheuwel and Mitchell’s Plain who shared similar challenges with their electricity meters. “One person said that he tested the box by switching off everything electrical in his house and he left. When he came back he had no electricity left on the metre. Another said that the electricity boxes made a sound and that the contractor came to reboot the box. We need solutions,” said Ms Campbell.

When asked why the price of electricity increased after the new meters were installed, Ms Limberg said: “Prepaid electricity meters cannot increase electricity costs, they merely measure electricity consumption. Where tampered or defective meters have been replaced with new meters, customers will notice a change in their purchasing patterns as they will now be making payments toward their electricity consumption – so it will not be free as previously they used electricity without paying for it.”

When asked why the new electrical boxes were installed, Ms Limberg said: “The City has had numerous engagements about electricity costs and alleged illegal meter tampering with the 7945 Community Action Group, which appears to have political affiliations, in the Lavender Hill area in particular. We’ve also engaged them in writing and responded to their demands earlier this month.

“What has sparked the mobilisation has been the City’s standard metro-wide meter functionality investigations, which found that only 26.6% of the checked 939 electricity meters in Lavender Hill have either been tampered with or bypassed.

“By far most of our customers are not tampering or bypassing in this area. It is best practice, when investigating meters for bypass, tampering, defects or ageing infrastructure, to replace the meters with new meters.

“The false news being spread is that the new meters cause electricity costs to go up. This is false and unfounded. These meters merely measure electricity usage and do not consume any of the customer’s electricity. The cost between the older and new meters are exactly the same. But where tampered or defective meters have been replaced with new meters, customers will notice a change in their purchasing patterns as they will be making accurate payments toward their electricity consumption.

“The City has extensive help available to those who qualify for assistance in terms of the Free Basic Electricity and the highly subsidised Lifeline tariff.

“Residents are encouraged to reach out to us for support. To see if you qualify for social support or payment arrangements to settle debt, please visit your nearest customer offices.”

When asked to explain what constitutes tampering with the electricity meters, Ms Limberg said: “It occurs when a person interferes with the City’s electricity meter equipment in such a way so that the meter does not measure the true value of electricity consumed in order to pay less or not pay for electricity at all. This is despite the extensive subsidies and help available to qualifying residents.

“It is important to note that thorough tampering investigations take place on an ongoing basis across the city. When evidence of tampering is found, the City conducts a full investigation, which includes examining the resident’s electricity usage and purchase history, in detail, over a number of years,” said Ms Limberg.

A peaceful protest became violent in a clash between police and residents in Lavender Hill last Monday, September 23.

On Thursday August 22, residents took their frustrations about electricity to the streets when they closed down Prince George Drive and Hek Road in Lavender Hill.

That protest was in response to the installation of the new prepaid meters in the broader Lavender Hill area and increased electricity tariffs – the latest of these increases was implemented on July 1 (“‘Electricity is becoming a big problem’”, Southern Mail, August 27).

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