The Sunday Mail
– ZESA loses out to meter tampering
– Households go for months with $0.00 ELECTRICITY BILLS
Zesa Holdings has lost over US$230 000 in potential revenue this year owing to rampant tampering and systematic bypassing of prepaid metres. Spot checks countrywide by Zesa’s revenue assurance department have revealed that thousands of households are enjoying free electricity.
The investigation targeted households where Zesa had been recording suspect usage figures, which included zero consumption over several months.
In Harare alone, 786 properties were found to be accessing free electricity mainly through bypassing Zesa’s prepaid meters with power connected directly to household distribution units.
Indications are that Zesa staff are likely involved in the tampering as they possess the expertise to reroute electricity so that it bypasses meters.
Individuals not associated with Zesa are also reportedly involved.
The power utility has identified “high-risk areas” where it has recorded huge levels of energy theft.
These areas will be among the first to get the new smart meters, which are less prone to tampering.
Zesa says around 435 000 prepaid meters have been installed countrywide to date, while the rest of the targeted 532 000 meters will get the units by the end of September.
Zesa spokesperson Mr Fullard Gwasira told The Sunday Mail Extra that since the beginning of their sting operation, several people had been prosecuted with an unconfirmed number receiving up to 10 years imprisonment sentences.
The Electricity Act imposes a mandatory 10-year jail term for vandalism of and tampering with Zesa installations.
Mr Gwasira, however, said despite its shortcomings, the prepaid metering system had allowed Zesa to recover much of the revenue it is owed by power consumers.
The prepaid metering system has oftentimes fallen prey to an organised racket where power consumers working in cahoots with employees of companies sub-contracted by Zesa to install the meters are allegedly behind the shocking electricity thefts.
Consumers who owe Zesa substantial amounts in unpaid debts are reported to be the major culprits.
Artisans use jumper cables to by-pass the meters and direct power current straight into the household distribution unit.
As a result of the widespread power thefts, Zesa in May stopped installing prepaid meters in houses and began mounting them on electricity poles. Mounting meters on poles limits consumer access to the devices.
Installing meters on poles will cost the power utility an extra US$16 million.
“The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company’s revenue assurance department carried targeted meter audits throughout the country.
“The targeted audits were based on exception reports (low consumption and zero consumption reports) from the prepayment management and vending system.
“Estimates for revenue which was meant to have been lost which we are in the process of recovering from beginning of the year range around US$234 000.
“In Harare out of the 786 (13 percent) points visited were found with meters bypassed, tampered or other.
“Meters mounted on the poles were not tampered with or bypassed, a clear testimony that pole mounting is an effective mitigation measure.
“ZETDC has to date collected substantial amounts owed as debt by customers through the debt amortisation arrangement available in the prepaid vending system. To date ZETDC has recovered a significant portion of the debt owed by domestic and small business customers,” Zesa said.
Under Government’s five-year economic plan, Zim-Asset, 800 000 meters should be installed by 2018, with 500 000 being prepaid meters while the rest are smart meters.
The 300 000 smart units will cost more than US$100 million and are being introduced to curb tampering.
