The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company has vowed to temporarily seize disconnecting defaulters, saying the exercise will now only now apply to customers with “extreme circumstances”.
Responding to questions on how the power utility is rolling out its credit control measures, Mr Fullard Gwasira – the spokesperson of the holding company, Zesa — said they cherished “a culture of responsiveness and a spirit of constructive engagement with its valued customers”.
“It is only in extreme circumstances and only as a last resort, that ZETDC embarks on disconnection to urge defaulting customers that do not take the initiative of engaging the power utility to settle their bills,” Mr Gwasira said.
According to Mr Gwasira, ZETDC is currently on an awareness campaign to encourage consumers to pay their bills.
The power utility is engaging farmers to come up with payment plans, with tobacco growers in particular being urged to enter stop-order arrangements with Zesa.
Mr Gwasira said the postpaid system of managing consumption of electricity would not be completely phased out.
“For now, those consumers on 100kV points and above and with individual transformers would only be transferred to the pre-payment metering system at the inception of smart metering that is set to introduce 300 000 more units,” Mr Gwasira said.
He said first priority for connection of smart meters would be bulk consumption points.
ZETDC is currently applying the Key Account Management system in which bulk electricity consumers are engaged to ensure harmony and understanding in the manner that they use electricity for operational efficiency.
“The electricity accounts of postpaid consumers are being managed well and ZETDC believes in continuous engagement with its valued customers until they make good their bills for the power utility to realise revenue to meet its obligation of efficiently servicing them,” Mr Gwasira said.