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As of April 1, South Africa will see a pretty sizeable electricity price hike.

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has agreed to Eskom increasing its tariff by over 15%, so get ready to see fewer units appearing on the prepaid electricity meter from next month.

You should also be aware of a new scam doing the rounds, with crooks posing as electricity officials from the City of Cape Town in order to gain access to people’s homes.

Once inside, the scammers steal personal items, and they’ve made a habit of targeting the elderly.

The City’s mayoral committee member for energy and climate change, councillor Phindile Maxiti, sounded the alarm recently, with this from CapeTalk:

“Criminals dressed in municipal clothing and carrying some form of identification operate by visiting residents at their homes and insisting they open their gates or front doors, so that electricity infrastructure can be checked.”

Maxiti says that City officials will never visit a person’s home without making a prior appointment.

He adds that residents should always check for official identification before allowing anyone onto their property.

Every legitimate City official will have an identification card that bears the City logo, the full name of the staff member or mandated contractor, and an embedded photograph of the staff member or mandated contractor.

Maxiti urged residents to remain vigilant, and to err on the side of caution.

Before allowing access to your home, you can phone the Call Centre on 0860 103 089, in order to confirm that work is being carried out in your area.

Anybody who suspects foul play can report suspicious behaviour to the City’s law enforcement agencies, or call the City’s Fraud Hotline on 0800 323 130.

Given that it’s often the elderly who have been targetted, it might be worth sharing the above information on the family WhatsApp group.

[source:capetalk]