James Carstens, Goodwood
Your latest article about Andrew Rolf’s “bloated” electricity bill really intrigued me (“Bloated bill leaves senior frustrated”, Off My Trolley November 6).
Unless he is running some high-powered activity at home, how can a single person, living alone, incur electricity charges of close to R2 000 a month?
His meter could possibly be faulty – if it still needs to be read, then it’s pretty ancient.
He should invest in a prepaid meter as I did several years ago.
We are a three-adult family and our electricity usage is less than R1 200 a month.
I have some tips for my fellow readers: We have a 150l-hot water cylinder – it uses around 4 to 5 units overnight, heating the water unnecessarily – at a cost of around R10 a night.
Save R300 a month immediately by switching the geyser off – we switch ours off at around 10pm and on at around 6pm, and the water remains hot in the morning to warm in the afternoon.
Also, for the past 12 months, I have been buying the maximum number of domestic rated units – 600 – irrespective of actual usage – at a cost of
R1 210 and we have thus far “banked” a saving of close to 300 units for the year on the prepaid meter.
Bear in mind that if you buy, say, 400 units in one month, you cannot buy 800 in the following month at the same cost per unit – you will receive 600 units at the domestic rate and 200 units at a much higher cost per unit.
Hulbert CrawCour, Durbanville,
I read with interest your column on the bloated electricity bill.
My wife and I are both 84 years of age and live in our home in Durbanville and our electricity bill is nowhere near R2 000 a month.
Admittedly, I turn off the geyser for the majority of the day – it’s only on from 4pm to 9pm – but my wife does a fair amount of baking and cooks every day for us.
I do daily readings on our prepaid meter and included is the record of our purchases from March to date – attached is an Excel file showing the daily readings and usage for the year as well as last year.
The spreadsheet reflects that in June, July and August he spent R1 000 and R1 150 respectively. Otherwise it ranged from R250 to R750 and up to now his electricity has cost him R6 950.
Dennis Wasmuth
I am from Langebaan visiting in Sonstraal, when I read your column.
Very important obviously is to have is a prepaid meter.
Just wondering how many more people are being ripped off with bogus readings.
They must be sitting with millions as a lot of people don’t bother to query their incorrect bills.
Thanks for a good read.
Gary Kleynhans, Gary’s Surf School, Muizenberg
Here are some tips on how to retrieve your stolen surfboard or wetsuit.
Take a photo of your surfboard.
Write your name and contact number in your wetsuit somewhere with either a permanent marker or correction fluid. It will fade after a while so redo it if necessary.
As soon as you discover your board or wetsuit has been stolen circulate a photo and description with your contact details to Cash Crusadersor Cash Converters as well as these surf shops: Gary’s Surf School, Muizenberg, 021 788 9839; Lifestyle Surf Shop, Muizenberg, 021 788 8218; Corner Surf Shop, Muizenberg, 021 788 1191; Vudu Surf Shop, Cape Town, 021 426 0503; Natural Energy Surf Shop, Strand, 021 853 1151; 2nd Surf Surf Shop, Fish Hoek, 021 782 7222; Kommetjie Surf Shop, Kommetjie, 021 783 4804; 2nd Surf Africa Surf Shop, Bloubergstrand, 021 612 0295; and Atlantic Surf Co. Surf Shop, Tableview, 021 557 4532.
Do not to leave any item unattended on the beach and be aware of who is sitting near you. Bags and other items can disappear in the blink of an eye.
Let’s work together to keep our communities connected and your equipment in your hands.
Put on sunblock, jump in the water and have a fantastic summer.