R185 000 bill – but no power

Published May 22, 2015

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Johannesburg - Nomvula Khumalo has spent more than a decade asking Eskom to connect her Soweto home, but all she got was an electricity bill for R185 000.

Khumalo, 57, grew up in the tiny two-room semi-detached house in White City.

She remembers that the area was electrified sometime in the 1970s or 1980s. All the neighbours got power to their homes, except for her family, although they did get the wiring and a meter box.

Even two homes in the same building as hers got electricity.

Khumalo left the area as an adult and later returned. Since 2003, she has been asking Eskom to sort out the connection.

She hasn’t had any luck.

“I don’t have any hope. We are in God’s hands,” said Khumalo.

Three years ago, she stopped taking routine medicine for her diabetes because doctors told her it was useless if she couldn’t keep it in a fridge.

Only one of her seven children finished matric, which she said was because it was difficult for them to study by candlelight.

Some of her 14 grandchildren live with her and she is hoping they will be able to remain in school.

One of her daughters who lives with her is now 34 and “has never experienced electricity”, said Khumalo.

This week, Eskom confirmed there had been a billing mix-up but couldn’t explain why Khumalo’s house wasn’t connected or why Eskom’s Chiawelo office hadn’t helped her sort it out.

A Joburg councillor tried to help Khumalo earlier this year, going to the Eskom office in Chiawelo on her behalf, but officials told him she’d have to pay R15 000 for a connection and then mysteriously started billing Khumalo.

The last bill was for R185 264.35.

The Star sent a copy of the account to Eskom, pointing out that although the address was correct, the meter number was not the one at Khumalo’s house, that she had never had electricity, and her meter had logged a total of just 6.7kWh since it was installed decades ago.

An Eskom spokesperson said the meter number on the bill had incorrectly been linked to Khumalo and that it was in fact for someone with a similar name living in Klipspruit.

“All the bills incorrectly charged under her name will be cancelled and the correct person will be billed accordingly,” the spokesperson added.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused and would like to confirm that the customer (Khumalo) does not have an existing account on our system.”

But there’s no indication of whether Khumalo will ever get her home on the grid.

The Star explained Khumalo’s difficulties to Eskom, saying she had tried since 2003 to raise the matter with Eskom’s Chiawelo office but officials repeatedly told her to pay R12 000 to R15 000. The Star asked Eskom how she could get an electricity connection.

“Khumalo should visit the nearest Eskom offices for the application of electricity supply, which will assist us in having the customer’s correct details,” said the Eskom spokesperson.

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The power utility could not say how much a connection would cost.

Khumalo said that after The Star contacted Eskom, officials visited her, checked the wiring at her home but left without telling her anything.

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