Municipal Speaker Thabani Nyawose has stated that the installation project is at an advanced stage, but fully equipping all properties will take several years. The goal is to install new smart meters across all municipal properties and households to improve accuracy, reduce reliance on estimates (which the municipality now calls unacceptable), lower water losses, enhance consumption monitoring, and support fair allocation of Free Basic Water.
In the interim, residents are urged to submit photographs of their meter readings via the eThekwini mobile app for more accurate billing. Those receiving excessively high bills are encouraged to use the council’s dispute resolution process (most complaints are said to be successfully addressed this way) and to continue paying the undisputed portion or average consumption while disputes are investigated. Credit-control actions, including disconnections, should not proceed on properly disputed amounts, though coordination issues between departments have sometimes led to threats of disconnection.
Resident complaints and challenges
Ratepayers and civic groups have reported accounts jumping into the tens of thousands of rands, billing errors after smart meter installations, and disconnection threats. Examples include:
- An eManzimtoti resident whose usual ~R2,000 monthly bill surged to R65,000 after a smart meter replacement that reportedly showed a constant zero reading (a minor leak was found but was said not to explain the increase). Assurances of holds, meter replacement, and write-offs were not fully followed through.
- Broader reports from areas including Reservoir Hills and other wards of technical defects, calibration issues, questionable installation practices, and administrative failures linked to the Smart Water Metering Programme.
The municipality responds that faulty or irregular meters are inspected, repaired, or replaced, and accounts are adjusted to actual or average consumption when errors are confirmed. Progress reports from earlier in 2026 noted installations (e.g., targets of thousands of smart water meters annually, with some areas exceeding targets) as part of efforts to modernize ageing infrastructure.
Broader context
Billing problems have been a recurring issue in eThekwini, tied to estimated readings (due to access problems like locked properties, dogs, or other obstacles), faulty meters, high non-revenue water losses, and system challenges. These affect households and raise concerns for businesses about reliability and investment. A new billing system (Customer to Meter / C2M) was previously planned, and smart metering is positioned as a longer-term fix alongside resident cooperation on readings and leak reporting.
This remains an active local issue amid ongoing service delivery debates in the municipality. Residents facing problems are directed to Sizakala Customer Service Centres or the municipal app/dispute processes.
