Prepaid and credit meters
We have standardised split prepayment meters for measuring residential electricity usage. Many households still have the older credit and integrated prepayment meters, but these are being replaced with the newer split prepayment meter.
The benefits of prepaid
If you use a prepaid meter, you have more control over your electricity bill because you can monitor your usage.
Depending on your average monthly usage and your property value, prepaid customers can also benefit from free monthly electricity allocation. See our section on
the cost of electricity for more information on how you are charged.
Reasons to go prepaid:
- You won’t sit with a huge bill at the end of the month.
- You can track how much electricity your household or business uses, down to the minute.
- You can control how much you spend on electricity.
- It’s ideal for communal renting or leasing. No more bill disputes!
Change to prepaid
Changing from a credit meter is made easy.
What happens when I change over?
If you have a credit meter and you want to move to a prepaid meter, a cut-off reading is taken on your credit meter when the new prepaid meter is installed in your home or property.
Buy electricity
You can buy electricity from a number of online vendors or retail outlets.
Reading credit meters
Our meter readers visit your property once a month or at least once every three months. You can identify them by their uniform. They always carry official City of Cape Town identification.
Where access to the meter cannot be safely obtained, your bill will reflect an estimated amount based on your average monthly usage. It is therefore important that you help them do their job well.
You can also submit your own meter reading via our e-Services portal or by email to
accounts@capetown.gov.za. You can also call us on
0860 103 089.
Stolen or damaged prepaid meters
Private property
We are not responsible for stolen or damaged meters on private property, if your meter has been stolen you will need to
apply for a new meter.
- You will be responsible for covering all related costs for the replacement of the meter.
- If you have insurance, you can contact them to find out if they can cover some or all of the costs.
City-owned property
If you are renting a property from us and your meter has been stolen/vandalised, you can follow the process below to have it replaced:
- Go to your nearest police station and open a case so that you can get a case number.
- Contact our Call Centre on
0860 103 089 and give the Call Centre Agent the case number.
Once we have received the case number, we will log a request and schedule a meter replacement.
Please note
Your complaint will be sent to our vendors who will receive it within 24 hours. Completion of the installation will depend on the severity and complexity of the damage. The technician will explain everything to you once he has assessed the situation.
Move your meter to a different location
If you need to move your meter to another area of your home, you must follow the process below:
- Apply for a disconnection/reconnection
- Once your application has been processed, an inspector will be sent out to remove the face off the meter and disconnect it.
- You will need to contact a qualified private electrician to move the meter. The electrician must submit a compliance certificate at the municipal office after completing the work.
- An inspector will come back to your property and check your meter after it has been moved. If the inspector is happy with the work, the electricity will be reconnected.
Would you like to print this page?
print 