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With only 40 percent of the 800 000 households on prepaid electricity meters those still being billed monthly face disconnections under formulas that few understand and many consider grossly unfair.
Electricity consumers are demanding that Zesa Holdings sets up a threshold for power disconnections to ensure that only those who exceed the limit are disconnected.
The consumers said the power cuts blitz being carried out by the power utility was inconsistent as some people owing little were being cut off, while those with huge bills were left out.
Some accused Zesa Holdings of failing to timeously capture payments and urged the power utility to prioritise the prepaid meter installation project to ensure fairness in the billing system.
The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company has failed to meet its August deadline for the prepaid meter installation project, managing to install only 318 000 meters on domestic premises against a target of 800 000.
The power utility wanted to complete the project in 12 months.
Zesa Holdings spokesperson Fullard Gwasira yesterday said the power utility did not consider the amount owed by consumers when disconnecting them, but looked at the transaction trail.
“The application of disconnection as a credit control measure does not use the quantum of the money that is being owed, but the status of the transaction trail as a basis to encourage customers to pay,” he said.
“If a customer had not been paying in line with the consumption pattern and has not been engaging ZETDC, then we are left with no option but to discontinue the service to protect both the customer and the business from heightened exposure.”
Mr Gwasira said the power utility had done all it could to address the challenges in the billing system.
“Those customers who are not yet on pre-payment metering should engage ZETDC to have their bills verified, if they are in doubt, we have fully fledged Customer Service Centers countrywide to diligently attend to any issues that may arise.”
Interviewed residents said Zesa Holdings’ poor billing system had resulted in some consumers being cut off, with the power utility insisting they were in arrears.
Zesa’s billing system is still behind despite the introduction of Powertel Internet Service it claimed would improve efficiency and connectivity.
Harare Residents Trust director Mr Precious Shumba said residents on pre-paid meters were better off than those on the Zesa metering system that was largely based on estimates.
“Zesa must prioritise completing the pre-paid meter project to ensure there is fairness in their billing system,” he said.
“There are economic challenges as well as social problems and the solution is to have threshold for electricity disconnections so that people exceeding that limit are disconnected.
“The current disconnections are inconsistent where they have disconnected households owing as little as US$50 and yet do not disconnect someone owing above US$600.”
Zesa’s billing system has been a major cause for concern for a long time as consumers believe their bills are being deliberately inflated through estimates.
Online Reporter