Lukanga Water and Sewerage Company (LgWSC) has denied allegations of manipulating meter readings being received from Kabwe residents.
LgWSC Public relations manager Siwa Mwene said the company has developed an in-house digital meter system known as the Low Density Multiple Residential (LDMR) which accurately captures information for customers in order to serve them better and effectively.
She said the LDMR is used to collect meter readings with a provision of taking the actual picture of the meter record.
“This work is conducted by the Customer Service Assistant who reads and uploads the photo and the meter readings onto the Lukanga Water and Sewerage Company server,” the Public Relations Manager stated.
The Public Relations Manager said the advanced system in place leaves no room for manipulation as the meter readings come with GPS coordinates, photo, time and date when they were recorded as proof of visiting the households of customers.
Ms. Mween stated that in instances where the meter is non-operational, the company gives the customer an average consumption of meter readings as the customers await repairing or replacement of the device.
“High water bills can be due to leakages in pipes or taps themselves. We urged customers to engage the company using the customer complaints procedure if they have grievances, ” she said.
Meanwhile, Kabwe residents complained about the manipulation of meter readings that no meter records are taken from my households sometimes but water bills are delivered.
“LgWSC has been over-charging me, as a customer I have not been given proof of meter readings being recorded from my household,” a concerned resident stated.
Furthermore, the residents claimed that they need to understand how the company approximates their water bills without Meter Readings.