By MidCity Utilities (Pty) Ltd

City of Tshwane and City of Johannesburg

The City of Tshwane and the City of Johannesburg operate complex metropolitan billing environments that include property rates and municipal services such as electricity, water, sanitation, and refuse removal. In certain areas, MidCity Utilities operates as a municipal services reseller, billing end users for services procured from the municipalities, specifically electricity and water.

Preventing miscalculations across municipal and reseller environments is essential for revenue protection, legislative compliance, customer confidence, and service delivery stability.

Legislative and Governance Context

The billing relationship between the municipalities and MidCity Utilities is governed by:

• The Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA)
• The Municipal Systems Act
• Council‑approved Tariff Policies
• Reseller agreements and service‑level agreements (SLAs)
• Credit Control and Debt Collection Policies

Shared Billing Risk Environment

Across Tshwane, Johannesburg, and MidCity Utilities, common billing risk areas include:

• Data inconsistencies between municipal systems and other billing platforms
• Manual adjustments made without cross‑verification
• Incorrect tariffs applied by Council
• Estimations on readings for extended periods
• Faulty, damaged or incorrectly programmed meters

If not properly managed, these risks can result in customer over- or underbilling, disputes, audit findings, and reputational damage to both the municipalities and the reseller.

Key Preventive Measures

1.Tariff and Billing Accuracy

To ensure that all customer billing is accurate, compliant, and aligned with approved tariff structures, MidCity Utilities ensures that:

• All tariffs, surcharges, VAT treatments, and interest rules are correctly configured and applied within the MidCity Utilities billing systems.
• Tariff changes, including annual increases effective 1 July, are implemented timeously and accurately.
• Effective integration between billing platforms, meter management systems, and bulk supply data sources is maintained.
• All billing transactions and adjustments are fully traceable through audit trails.

2. Internal Duties and Authorisation Controls

To prevent unauthorised, inaccurate, or fraudulent billing activity through effective internal controls:

• MidCity Utilities enforces segregation of duties across billing, revenue processing, meter management, and adjustments.
• MidCity Utilities ensures all billing corrections are formally authorised and supported by documentation.

3.Source Data Validation and Consumption Monitoring

To ensure that billing is based on accurate, verified meter consumption data:

• Bulk and customer meter readings used for billing are validated regularly. 
• For every council electricity supply meter, a check meter is installed to verify that the municipal meter is accurate. Where discrepancies are identified, they are reported and actively followed up on until corrections are completed.
• MidCity Utilities deploys meter readers to do checks and reports on customer consumption data.
• Abnormal consumption patterns are detected and investigated to ensure billing integrity and early identification of system or meter issues.

4.Monthly Billing and Revenue Assurance

To ensure accuracy and integrity of billing revenue and financial reporting:

• Monthly reconciliations are performed between bulk supply (kWh / kL), sub meters, services and losses or leaks.
• Monthly reconciliations are performed between bulk supply costs and customer consumption billed.
• Billed revenue is reconciled to billing system outputs and general ledger balances.
• Discrepancies are identified, monitored accurately, and documented correctly.

In conclusion, accurate utility billing depends on consistent controls, verified data, and responsive management processes. Through ongoing monitoring, validation, reconciliation, and governance measures, MidCity Utilities helps create a more stable and predictable utilities environment for both property owners and residents.

By acting as an intermediary between municipalities and end users, MidCity Utilities can provide greater transparency, faster issue resolution, and continuous oversight across the billing process. This not only supports revenue assurance and compliance but also helps reduce uncertainty, minimise disputes, and build long-term customer confidence in complex metropolitan billing environments.

While MidCity Utilities delivers the operational controls and revenue assurance required to help prevent miscalculations, the municipalities remain accountable for lawful tariff setting, bulk supply accuracy, and oversight in terms of applicable legislation and approved policies.