Your doorbell rings: “It’s the electricity meter reader,” and you open the front door to the block of flats without a second thought, only to find that your power supply has been cut off.
“Maybe they cut it off temporarily while they fiddle around down there,” you think to yourself. “Maybe I should go down and check.” Too late, they have already left and you remain in the dark.
That is how State energy provider Enemalta has been dealing with some residents with unsettled or contested bills.
“Those are the instructions they gave us. Would you let me in to cut off your electricity? Of course not,” said an Enemalta employee who spoke to this newspaper on condition of anonymity.
He has been cutting off electricity for years and said he had seen it all. “I’ve been assaulted; I’ve had things thrown at me. Someone once said they’d find me and kill me – just for doing my job,” he admitted.
I’ve had things thrown at me. Someone once said they’d find me and kill me – just for doing my job
Pretending to be meter readers is not the only way they gain access. The employee said many debtors would not open up, even if Enemalta technicians presented themselves as meter readers. Not to give themselves away, they sometimes ring the doorbell of apartments that are not the targeted ones.
Asked about the practice of surreptitious entry, an Enemalta spokesman said that the company was determined to minimise its losses from debtors. “This can only be achieved if the company manages to secure revenue by minimising the risk of theft and other non-technical losses and reducing unpaid dues for its services,” he said.
The spokesman did not comment on the methods used to gain access to meters. However, he did say that Enemalta often suspended service electronically, without having to visit the property. There were cases, however, where Enemalta needed to have access to meter rooms in the common parts of apartment blocks, he said.
"They may need to access the meter room in common parts to suspend or terminate a service or to make sure that a suspension of service to one individual does not disrupt the electricity service of other customers in the same apartment block."
The spokesman explained that residents were legally obliged to give Enemalta’s employees unobstructed access to its electricity meters and service was only cut off when customers ignored repeated warnings.
"Arms Ltd (on behalf of Enemalta) sends customers several payment reminders when bills remain unpaid. Following these reminders, it also sends customers a suspension notice at least one week before the service is disconnected, to give account holders a final opportunity to regularise their position or to contact Arms Ltd and discuss any disagreements they may have about the amounts due. Where customers’ contact telephone numbers are available, Arms also sends them SMS reminders or calls them to advise them to settle their dues. In most cases, these reminders effectively convince the customers to come forward and pay the pending dues or resolve their billing concerns. Customers who are going through financial difficulties are also offered the option to avoid suspension of service by paying their dues by instalments," the spokesman said.
About one per cent of residents ignore the numerous reminders sent out to settle bills and also refuse to enter into repayment agreements.
The spokesman said customers had to submit a request for reconsideration of the amounts due for the decision to cut off electrical supply to be suspended.
One resident had another story to tell, however. She said she had long been contesting her bills, finding on numerous occasions that they were off the mark by hundreds of euros. She claimed that she too had had her supply sneakily cut off while her bills were being contested.
Asked about this, the Enemalta spokesman aid the case seemed irregular but he could not comment without specific details.