July 7, 2011
By Editor

South African households have taken a double salvo this winter, with Eskom’s 25% year-on-year increases, compounded by the seasonal 30% hike over the winter months. These substantial increases create a noticeable dent in everyone’s budget and South Africans are turning to prepaid meters, in an effort to manage their energy costs.

You can’t manage, what you don’t measure

This old adage rings true and simply put, prepaid meters are a great way to keep energy efficiency and good habits top of mind. As opposed to paying off your electricity bill as part of your water and rates bundle at the end of each month, prepaid meters force you to monitor your power consumption from day to day. This means you’re more aware and can instantly notice the benefits of any positive/negative changes.

Stop. Powertime.

The problem with prepaid meters is that when you run out you need to stop what you are doing and pop down to the local supermarket, corner store or petrol station to recharge. With the Powertime application available on the Ovi store, buying your prepaid electricity tokens is now as easy as free messaging on your phone. No more trips to the supermarket or petrol station, only to find that the system is offline, which has happened to me on more than one occasion. According to the Powertime website, the service provides nearly 7 million South Africans with prepaid electricity tokens, 24/7.

How much will the service cost me?

Powertime does not charge any fees to you, as they get their cut from Eskom or your municipality directly. Yes, that’s right, what you buy, is what you get. As for the application itself, the Powertime app is a free download from the Nokia Ovi store.

Setting up your account

Setting up an account takes less than five minutes. Insert your meter number and the service checks if your meter is covered. Add your payment details and you’re good to go. Powertime also has a useful mobi site, offering all the same functionality as the website. Simply point your browser to m.powertime.co.za and you can setup your account, straight from your phone.

Landlords and property managers – multiple meters

A useful feature of the service is that you can load numerous meters onto one profile. This is extremely useful for landlords and property owners who have more than one meter to manage. If any of your less tech savvy tenants call you in a panic, you can now resolve the issue on the fly, straight off your phone.

Is my municipality covered?

The Powertime team have put together this useful FAQ sheet, which should resolve any questions you might still have.

Download Powertime for free for your phone, from Ovi here