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IMPORTANT SMART PREPAID METER INFORMATIONSmall Power Users (electricity supply < 100Amps)

BackgroundWhy is the City of Tshwane installing smart meters?The City of Tshwane (CoT) has launched an initiative called the Security of Revenue Project (SORP) that involves replacing all existing electricity meters in Tshwane with smart meters on a prepaid basis. The project will help the CoT overcome problems of inaccurate billing, loss of revenue and secure the financial position of the CoT. Furthermore, smart meters create a more efficient electricity grid with benefits to you, the local economy, and the CoT.

What are the electricity by-laws?The CoT electricity by-laws were approved and promulgated on 7 August 2013. They prescribe the conversion of electricity metering from post-paid to smart prepaid for all electricity customers (residential, commercial and industrial), unless they receive a direct supply from Eskom. The by-laws cover theft and tampering, arrears, disconnection and reconnection. The CoT revenue protection unit will enforce by-laws by enforcing legal action on any parties contravening a by-law. Contravention is a punishable offence and may result in fines/damages.The complete by-laws are available on the CoT website:http://www.tshwane.gov.za/Services/Electricity/Electricity%20ByLaws/227_7-8-2013_GautSeparateCV01.pdf

What is a smart prepaid meter? A smart meter is an advanced type of digital electricity meter that records when, and how much, electricity is consumed, and deducts the amount consumed from a prepaid balance loaded by you. The smart meter allow you to view near real-time electricity usage and over time helps you to manage your consumption. The meter sends accurate reads automatically to the CoT eliminating the need for electricity bills and manual meter readings. You will however still receive a bill for your other municipal services e.g. water and sewerage. Smart meters are capable of two- way communication between the meter and the CoT. This enables the CoT to read information off the meter, detect power outages and meter tampering, and to send information to the meter such as programming updates. Automated instructions are also sent to the meter to interrupt the power supply when your prepaid account balance reaches zero, and to reconnect supply once you have loaded credit. Meters are tested in accordance with, and meet, International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and South African specifications. 2

1 Meter sends automatic meter reads to back-end system (improved data accuracy and better forecasting)

2 No more physical meter reads

3 Meters operate on a prepaid system

4You do not receive a monthly electricity bill - instead consumption analysis is available online (resulting in fewer queries, disputes and complaints)

5 Consumption shown in near real-time on Self Care Portal

6 You can monitor energy usage and manage consumption

7 CoT can communicate with the meter for software upgrades and disconnection/reconnection instructions

8 Better usage data enables better energy service offerings

How does the smart prepaid meter work?

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ElectricitySupply

City of Tshwane

Smart meter

Consumer

Self Care Portal

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X 3

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Smart meters provide two-way communications between the CoT, its service providers and each smart meter. The meter is connected via telecommunication technology to a central system that links your electricity credit to your electricity consumption

BenefitsHow will a smart meter help me manage my electricity expenses?You will no longer receive unexpected bills as a smart meter sends the meter readings automatically to the CoT back-end systems, and your consumption is deducted from your prepaid credit. You can view your credit and consumption on a website, the “Self Care Portal”. You will thus know how much electricity you have consumed, and therefore are able to adjust your consumption habits, and budget accordingly.

What are the benefits?There are a number of benefits of to the smart meter:• Improved customer service:

- Queries relating to electricity billing will be eliminated. - Real-time outage detection helps the CoT to detect supply

faults and proactively respond to them allowing for faster resolution.

- Automated upload of credit to your smart meter account. - You are not bound as to when and where electricity can be

purchased. - Proactive SMS and email reminders to notify you when you are

running out of credit and need to top-up your account.• No more estimated electricity bills! You are able to manage your

electricity expenditure in a simple and reliable manner.• Theft and fraud are reduced as smart meters have anti-tampering

technology and tamper alarms which are linked to the CoT system.

• The system enables the CoT to better plan around the use of electricity. This enables accurate load profiling, contributing to a more reliable electricity supply and reduced unexpected power cuts.

• The smart meter system allows you to access details about your electricity consumption in near real-time. You will know how much electricity you have consumed, and therefore are able to adjust your consumption habits and save money.

• The installation of smart meters supports job creation, and growth and development in the CoT.

Benefits of Smart Prepaid

Meters

Improved customer service

Automated and accurate

charges

Reduced theft and fraud

Reduced unexpected power cuts

Near real-time

information

Cost savings

Job creation and economic

growth

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CostsWhat are the cost implications for me?• Costs will be carried by the CoT, providing you with:

- Free smart prepaid meter - Free installation - Free repairs (excluding tampering or malicious damage) - No increase in the cost of electricity as a result of the smart

meter project - No impact on Eskom’s rebate strategy

• The prevailing tariff structure will apply and be revised annually as per the standard approval of the Municipal Council and NERSA.

• There are opportunities to minimise electricity costs by monitoring and adjusting your consumption habits.

Impact The smart prepaid metering solution employed by the CoT is built on established and robust technology. Several million smart meters have been deployed worldwide to date.

How will smart meters affect me?

Prepaid versus postpaid• You will be required to pay upfront for your electricity. This

means that you will no longer receive an electricity bill from the CoT but instead will be required to purchase prepaid electricity credit.

• This could mean that your budgeting process needs to change.

Settle accounts in arrears• You will be required to settle any arrears on your municipal

service accounts with the CoT before you will be able to purchase prepaid electricity credit.

• Should you need to make arrangements to pay off your final post paid and other municipal accounts, you may apply to the CoT via the normal channels to request a payment plan on your final post-paid bill. However this is by agreement by the mandated parties in the CoT only. Terms and conditions apply.

Traditional prepaid versus smart prepaid• If you have a traditional prepaid electricity meter this will be

replaced with a smart meter.• You will need to follow a different process to purchase and load

prepaid electricity credit for your smart meter.

Online registration on the Self Care Portal• To purchase electricity you will be required to register your

account on the Self Care Portal on the world wide web (WWW).• The Self Care Portal is your tool to help you to monitor and

manage your account.• Once you have registered your account, the power is in your

hands to proactively monitor and manage your consumption and account!

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You receive electricity5What is the installation process?1. Site survey • A pre-installation site survey is conducted to assess

the configuration of the existing meter and should the configuration be unsuitable, the installation will be postponed.

2. Install smart meter• If the configuration is suitable, a new smart meter will be

installed.• Meter installations will be between 6am and 4pm.• The smart meter will be installed in a secure meter box on

CoT property on the sidewalk.• During the installation there will be a power outage of

approximately 4-6 hours.• The smart meter will be operational as soon as it has been

installed and tested. • Photographs and detailed records will be taken of the final

meter readings on existing meters.• This last post-paid meter reading is used to calculate your

final post-paid bill. • Pleaseprovideaccesstoyourpremisesifandwhenrequired

toinstallthemeterinaccordancewiththeby-lawsoftheCoT.

You purchase electricity4

Site survey1

You register online3

Install smart meter2

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3. You register online• You register on the “Self Care Portal” (website) in order to be able

to purchase electricity. You need to have your account details available to do this. These details can be found at the top of your post-paid electricity bill.

• You will have 72 hours after midnight on the day of the installation to register and perform your first purchase. The meter will register a negative balance during this period which will be deducted from the amount of your first purchase. If you have not topped-up within the 72 hours, your supply of electricity will be disconnected until you top-up.

4. You purchase electricity • You purchase electricity via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) on

your bank’s internet banking website or via direct deposit into one of the CoT’s specifically established bank accounts for prepaid electricity, to ensure an uninterrupted electricity supply. The CoT has dedicated bank accounts for this purpose with ABSA, FNB, Standard Bank and Nedbank. A transfer from your bank account with one of these banks into the corresponding CoT account will update your prepaid balance within 5 minutes and allow for uninterrupted supply of electricity

• Supply will be disconnected when you run out of credit.

5. You receive electricity • Once your transaction is approved, your account will be credited

with the amount of the transaction.

Is it possible that the installation is postponed? The installation team will perform a pre-installation site survey to assess your current meter setup. There may be circumstances where problems are found which could lead to the postponement of your installation until the problem has been resolved.When electricity goes down, does that affect the reliability of the data stored on the smart meters?No. The smart meters are able to store many months’ worth of electricity consumption data and have back-up batteries. All data is stored on the back-end system which has a full disaster recovery back-up system in place.

At what time will the installation take place?Meters will be exchanged daily between 6am and 4pm

Will my electricity supply be interrupted during installation?Yes – during the meter installation, there will be a power outage for approximately 4 hours.

Will the installers need access to my property?Installers will not require access to install the smart meter.

How will I be able to identify the installation team?The installation team is identifiable by photo identification cards displaying:• City of Tshwane logo• City of Tshwane call centre number • Name of field agent/engineer• Field agent/engineer photographIf you have any concerns, please call (012) 943 9950 to verify the installation team.

InstallationWhen will my smart meter be installed?The installation of smart meters commenced on 1 October 2013. We aim to switch residential users (Small Power Users) from December 2014 onwards. Installers will be in specific areas at predefined dates.

Can I choose the date and time of the installation ?No, your date of installation has been scheduled according to the rollout plan.

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Do I need to be present for the installation?You do not need to be present for the installation of the smart meter.

Are there costs associated with installation?• There is no charge for the smart meter • There is no charge for the installation of the smart meter• The CoT incurs the costs of transitioning from the current system

to the smart meter system• As the smart meter and installation thereof are free, no exchange

of money is permitted.

What about maintenance?There are no serviceable parts hence maintenance is only required in the unlikely event of damage or fault.

What happens with sectional title complexes?The CoT will only be replacing its own meters on its own infrastructure. This means only the bulk meter will be replaced on sectional title properties. Private metering companies’ infrastructure will not be replaced. If there is a body corporate then the account will need to be paid by the body corporate who must recover accordingly from tenants.

Who do I contact if there are any problems with the installation of the new smart meter?• Call the Smart Meter Contact Centre on (012) 943 9950 or email

smartmeter@tshwane.gov.za

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Self Care PortalWhat is the “Self Care Portal”?• The Self Care Portal is a website on which you need to register in

order to purchase electricity credit.• Details on how to register and purchase electricity will be

provided on the day of installation.• On the Self Care Portal you can do the following:

• View account, customer and meter information (including consumption data and reports)

• Change your account settings: - Set your balance notification thresholds - Enter email addresses and mobile number to receive

notifications• Generate tax invoices

• You do not buy electricity on the Self Care Portal itself but rather via your bank’s internet banking website.

• Once you have registered your account, the power is in your hands to proactively monitor and manage your consumption and account!

When can I register?You have up 72 hours after midnight on the day of the installation of your smart meter to register and perform your first purchase of electricity.

What happens if I do not register?If you do not register on the Self Care Portal, you will not be able to purchase electricity for your meter.

Will my prepaid meter run as a post-paid meter until I register?During the 72 hour window after installation in which you have to register and perform your first purchase, the meter will register a negative balance which will be deducted from the amount of your first purchase. If you have not topped-up within 72 hours, your supply of electricity will be interrupted until you top-up.

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Access Self Care Portal on https://tums.mdmhosting.com

Click on ‘Register’Agree to Online Terms and

Conditions of use (option to print and save)

Fill in all information under ‘User details’ and click ‘Register’

A temporary password will be sent to the email address you entered

in the preceding step

Click on ‘New login’ or return to log in page

https://tums.mdmhosting.com

Enter Username and temporary password and click ‘Sign in’

A ‘Change password’ window will automatically pop up

Enter temporary password in ‘Current password’ field

Enter new password in ‘New password’ and ‘Retype new

password’ fieldsClick on ‘Change password’

You have successfully registered and logged in!

Registration stage

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Purchasing electricityHow do I purchase electricity?Once you have registered on the Self Care Portal, you can purchase electricity via EFT on your bank’s internet banking website. Alternatively you can opt to do a direct deposit at the Bank. More vending channels will be made available in future.

What is the account number to be used for payment?DO NOT pay into the old post-paid electricity account.

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The CoT has specifically established bank accounts for prepaid electricity. Choose your preferred option from the list of accounts below:

ABSAAccount name: COT: Smart Prepaid Electricity AccountAccount number: 408 237 1629Branch name: Absa CIBWBranch code: 632005

FNBAccount name: Smart Prepaid ElectricityAccount number: 624 402 728 55Branch name: RMB Corporate BankingBranch code: 255005

NedbankAccount name: TSHWANE: Smart Prepaid Electricity of TshwaneAccount number: 105 891 9229Branch name: Nedbank South AfricaBranch code: 198765

Standard BankAccount name: Tshwane: Smart Prepaid ElecAccount number: 012 084 697Branch name: Van Der Walt StreetBranch code: 010145

How do I ensure faster payment processing?Firstly, remember to pay into one of the specifically established bank accounts for prepaid electricity. Select the bank account that corresponds to your bank for faster payment processing. Alternatively, please be advised that transactions may take 2-3 working days to be processed. Your account will not be updated with any electricity purchased until the payments have cleared and are reflected in the selected CoT prepaid electricity account.

Do I get notice when I am running low on credit?Yes, you will be able to choose your own low and critical balance notification thresholds on the Self Care Portal at which you would like to be sent a notification to top-up. This is in the form of an email or email and SMS, depending on your chosen preferred means of communication. You receive your last notification to top-up when your credit reaches zero.

What happens when I run out of credit?• In the event that your credit balance is depleted to zero, your

electricity service is interrupted until such time as the electricity account is topped-up.

• You will be notified of the disconnection/reconnection by email or SMS

Is it cheaper to buy electricity in bulk?No, there is no incentive for buying electricity in bulk.

How will I be sure that the credit I have purchased has been loaded into my smart meter account?The credit purchased will be automatically uploaded to your account one a successful payment has been recognised by the system. You will be notified via email or email and SMS, when the credit has been loaded. This notification will reflect the value of electricity that has been purchased and your new account balance.

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Process to purchase electricity• Note that the unique ‘Payment ref’ starts with an ‘S’ followed by 8 digits e.g. S12345678. If you do not use the reference number

your account will NOT be topped up.• If you are registered for VAT, enter your VAT number under the ‘Settings’ tab on the Self Care Portal.• Your payment history, pro forma and tax invoices are stored and available for download under the ‘Top up & Invoice History’ tab on

the Self Care Portal.

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Log onto Self Care Portal using User name and password Click on the ‘Top up & Invoice

History’ tab

Enter Rand value amount under ‘Payment advice’ and click ‘Create’

You have the option to download/cancel/ create another pro forma

invoice

To access this pro forma, either click ‘Download pro forma’ or open it from the ‘Payment history’ table

Take note of the unique ‘Payment Ref’ which is to be used as the

reference for EFT payment (e.g. S12345678)

If needed, obtain payment approval according to your own internal

processes

Access your internet banking, and add the CoT smart prepaid

electricity account as a beneficiary

Complete EFT payment using the unique ‘Payment Ref’ from the

pro forma invoice

Account will be topped up after successful payment. You will receive a notification via email and/or SMS

Click the relevant ‘tax invoice’ in ‘Payment history’ to download

the invoice

To view tax invoice, navigate back to the Self Care Portal ‘Top up &

Invoice History’ tab

Tampering and theftAre smart prepaid meters easy to tamper with?The new smart meters are expected to reduce energy theft dramatically through built-in smart features like tampering detection. The smart meters have very sensitive tamper alarms and communicate irregularities directly to the CoT’s revenue protection unit.

Ifitisfoundthatyouhavetamperedwithyourmeter,youwillbedisconnectedandwillhavetopayafine

Who will pay to replace stolen cables?The CoT replaces any stolen cables once you have reported the incident to the police.

How will the City deal with illegal connections?Smart meters are expected to make illegal connection detection easier. Illegal connections will be removed and the CoT has established a revenue protection unit to respond to illegal connections and enforce penalties incorporated in the CoT’s electricity by-laws.

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Abbreviations & Glossary

ABBREVIATION DESCRIPTION

CoT City of Tshwane

EFT Electronic Funds Transfer

IEC International Electrotechnical Commission

kVA Kilovolt-ampere

kWh Kilowatt-hour

NERSA National Energy Regulator of South Africa

SMS Short Message Service

SORP Security of Revenue Project

VAT Value Added Tax

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Contacts

General and post-paid queries, power outagesPhone: CoT Contact Centre 012 358 9999 (Operating Hours- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week)

Email:customercare@tshwane.gov.za

Website:www.tshwane.gov.za

Smart meter queriesPhone: Smart Meter Customer Care Centre 012 943 9950 (Operating Hours- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week)

Email:smartmeter@tshwane.gov.za

FAQS: www.smartmeter.tshwane.gov.za/faq.html