adminWe believe consumers have rights and that they should exercise those rights so that service providers do not take them for granted and reap where they did not sow. Local authorities, the Zimbabwe National Water Authority and the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority are some of the organisations whose billing systems have come under scrutiny from consumers who can no longer carry the burden of apparent inefficiencies in these bodies.
In the case of Zesa, consumers have never been happy with the organisation’s billing system and even the Competition and Tariff Commission was drawn into the issue leading to an investigation that concluded that the organisation was abusing its monopoly in power supply. The CTC instructed Zesa to make tariff adjustments in line with the period that consumers had access to power in view of the long hours of load shedding, especially for consumers on load limiter supply.
The control that consumers have been yearning for appears to have finally come though the attendant conditions might see some consumers failing to enjoy the expected convenience. Zesa has since rolled out its programme of installing pre-payment meters in Bulawayo though the exercise has been met with an outcry from residents. Apparently, Zesa demands that those that are moved to the new system should be debt-free on the old system, whose bills have largely been disowned by consumers.
There is a danger of sparking resistance to a noble exercise through the manner in which it has been handled. The accumulation of debt by the consumers is a sure sign that consumers are struggling to pay their bills and it is against this background that we feel consumers should be given time to pay off their debts without being denied access to power.
While it is important for Zesa to collect all outstanding debts, this should be done also taking into consideration the prevailing situation that consumers are facing so that they are not frustrated into turning to alternative energy. There is a growing trend of consumers whose supplies were cut off over disputed bills who are turning to solar energy and the use of gas, in addition to those who rely on generators.
We believe Zesa and its consumers should maintain healthy relations and the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company officials should stick to policy as outlined by senior Zesa officials that consumers would pre-pay for their electricity and in the same transaction have part of the money going towards settling their old bill.
“When they pay, part of the money goes towards the outstanding debt just like banks do to their customers but the difference is we are not taking all of it,” said Mr Fullard Gwasira, Zesa’s spokesperson.
It appears that policy has been filed somewhere in some big office because there would be no outcry if it was followed to the letter.
While we urge Zesa to show lenience on its customers, we would also like to urge consumers to also pay their bills so that the power utility can be able to continue providing a service. We should applaud Zesa for making efforts to restore consumer power through ensuring customers have control over bills by paying for electricity in advance, a growing trend with other service providers.
Online Reporter