Electricity bill way too high? How to dispute it without being cut off

If your municipal electricity bill suddenly jumps to an amount you can't explain, the law lets you dispute it, and the municipality may not use the disputed amount to cut your power while the dispute is open. The catch: you must keep paying everything that isn't in dispute, or you can still be disconnected.

Can the municipality cut my power over a disputed bill?

Not for the amount you are disputing. Section 102 of the Municipal Systems Act lets a municipality take credit control steps, such as disconnection, over arrears on your account, but says this does not apply where there is a dispute about a specific amount it is claiming from you.

The same Act requires municipalities to send "regular and accurate accounts", measure use through accurate meters, and give residents an accessible way to query bills and appeal (Municipal Systems Act, section 95).

That protection is narrow. The City of Johannesburg's billing guide states that a query stays valid only while you keep paying current and undisputed charges, and that you can be disconnected for unpaid charges that are not part of the query.

What do I have to keep paying?

In Johannesburg, two things:

• Everything you are not disputing. If only electricity is wrong, rates, water, refuse and sewer must still be paid in full and on time (City of Johannesburg).
• An average amount for the disputed service. Joburg's credit control by-law requires at least the average of the previous three undisputed months for that service, paid by the due date. The City tells residents to keep paying that average until the query is resolved (City of Johannesburg).

Other municipalities set their own rules in their credit control by-laws, which every council must adopt under section 98 of the Act. Check yours before you withhold anything.

How do I lodge the dispute?

Do it before the due date on the bill if you can. Joburg's by-law says a query must be lodged on or before the due date, or as soon as reasonably possible after it (by-law, section 11).

1. Read your meter and photograph it with the date visible. A big jump often comes from an estimated reading being corrected. Cape Town says it bills an estimate when its readers can't safely get to the meter (City of Cape Town).
2. Put the query in writing with your account number, the exact amount you are disputing, why, and copies of your last few bills.
3. Get a reference number. Joburg's by-law obliges officials to register the query and give you one (section 11(4)).
4. Keep proof of every payment and every email.

Johannesburg: 0860 562 874 (Joburg Connect) (City of Johannesburg).

Cape Town: 0860 103 089, option 3, or [email protected]. Have a copy of your account, ID and your business partner number ready (City of Cape Town). A formal "contest a municipal bill" option is on the City's claims and disputes page.

Eskom-supplied areas: 0860 037 566 (City of Cape Town electricity FAQ).

How long does the municipality have to respond?

It depends on the by-law. In Johannesburg, the City must investigate within 14 days or as soon as possible, then tell you its decision in writing. If money is found to be owed, you get 21 days to pay it or to appeal to the City Manager (by-law, section 11).

What if the municipality doesn't fix it?

You can take an electricity complaint to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), which publishes a complaint form and dispute resolution process on its customer complaints page. NERSA has told Parliament that the Electricity Regulation Act lets customers refer complaints to it for dispute resolution (PMG, NW815).

Contact NERSA on 012 401 4600 or [email protected] (NERSA).