Smart meter crisis: call to axe top ELM officials

By Craig Kotze
As confusion and anger on the Emfuleni smart meter crisis mounts, business has demanded that ELM suspend its top two officials before irreparable harm is done to the regional economy, the smart meter programme itself, and millions in monthly municipal revenues.
In a hard-hitting letter to Executive Mayor Gift Moerane on Sunday, the Golden Triangle Chamber of Commerce (GTCoC) requested a high-level investigation into the motives, conduct and decision-making of both officials on deepening “mismanagement” of the smart meter programme.
No official response or reaction to the letter by either the Mayor or ELM was received at time of publication.
The GTCoC letter “respectfully requested” not only the axing of the officials but also the reinstatement of transitional arrangements with service provider BXCSA until proper policy could be developed in consultation with stakeholders and implemented by a permanent Municipal Manager.
The letter was written by GTCoC CEO Klippies Kritzinger in response to weeks of uncertainty surrounding the future of the smart meter programme, and with hundreds of businesses and residents without electricity due to ELM’s sudden termination.
Kritzinger also said bridging by the municipality should be stopped immediately and the smart meter programme should be retained in its present form until a new permanent administration at ELM could develop and implement a proper policy and strategy.
“We now need stability and security of electricity supply on smart meters above all and that means stopping these official’s from doing more damage,” Kritzinger told Vaalweekblad after he was asked for confirmation on the letter.
Allegations that ELM had itself caused power shortages by ordering vending to smart meters to be stopped should also be investigated, Kritzinger said in the letter.
ELM also without any warning announced last week in an unsigned statement it would replace smart meters and would also bridge meters, unleashing a wave of unauthorised bridgings by clients desperate for electricity for business and domestic use.
The two officials concerned are acting Municipal Manager (MM) Dithaba Nkoane and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Andile Dyakala. ELM has already advertised the MM post and expects to fill it in coming months.
Both officials were approached for comment but did not respond.
Many businesses and residents with smart meters found themselves unable to load power after purchases this last week and simultaneously were confronted by an ELM decision – without any warning or consultation – to replace smart meters with normal pre-paid meters.
ELM also started bridging smart meters following its recent unilateral termination of a transitional agreement with service provider BXCSA . BXCSA has established the most advanced and effective smart meter programme in Gauteng over the past few years but was forced to terminate its contract due to non-payment by ELM several months ago.
When BXCSA recently requested payment for the transitional period, ELM then terminated the process and implemented a series of unilateral actions designed to dismantle the entire system.
Now a major backlash is growing in the community, business sector and political arena on what the GTCoC described as the “inexplicable” decision-making and bad planning of the acting MM and the CFO.
The Emfuleni Ratepayers Association (ERPA) has launched a community petition on the matter and has also reportedly assisted smart meter clients with bridging.
Concerns have also been raised on the safety of the bridging process used by ELM, specifically that it was using the wrong wire gauge for bridging and used thinner gauges than the 10mm wire required, according to ERPA experts.
This could result in fires, they said.
Vaalweekblad will carry the full response of Mayor Moerane to Kritzinger’s letter as soon as it is received as well as the response of both the acting MM and the CFO.