However, people seem to worry most about the electricity bills that consume much of their monthly incomes.
In an investigative report published recently, Al-Riyadh daily wrote that it had accompanied a meter reader from the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) to know the methods of meter reading, as they have often been accused of not being accurate. A number of citizens and foreigners complained that their electricity bills were exaggerated and did not reflect their actual consumption.
The field tour started from the SEC office in Al-Aqrabiyyah district in Alkhobar. The company has divided residential districts into blocks, separated by main streets. It has assigned certain areas to each of its meter readers, who have to complete their job in 20 working days. They begin work at 7 a.m. and finish at 2 p.m. The bills are prepared according to consumption rates.
The meter reader the newspaper accompanied said the most difficult thing he encountered in his work was the location of the meter, which was sometimes difficult to reach, especially in underdeveloped areas full of old houses. He said most of the times the meter was placed inside the house. “On many occasions, I cannot read the meter because there was no one in the house to open the door for me,” he said.
He noted that in many buildings the meters were located in warehouses, which were full of debris. “The building owners were warned several times to make the meters easily accessible, but they do not bother to heed,” he said.
He also noted that some buildings were owned by people living outside the region. The company, in this case, would not disconnect the electricity, because the tenants had no hand in the violations committed by the building owners.
On many occasions, the meter readers face difficult situations with subscribers, particularly when there are orders to disconnect power supply because of nonpayment of bills or other violations. “Sometimes we are verbally and physically abused,” the meter reader said.
However, nothing of the sort happened during the tour, except for the unwelcoming look on the faces of some residents when they saw strangers approaching their houses. The unhappy look would soon disappear when the residents recognized the meter reader, who was only doing his job. The readers can be recognized by the identity cards they wear or the emblem of the company's car.
Deputy CEO of the SEC Abdul Salam bin Abdul Aziz Al-Yamani said the company was not suffering from any shortage in the number of meter readers, and that it had provided the necessary mechanisms for reading meters and distributing bills. He said the company was now considering the introduction of new techniques for remote reading. “We are also considering the introduction of prepaid meters,” he added.
Al-Yamani said the company had introduced a mobile service to alert subscribers about the issuance of their bills and about the time when power might be cut if the bills were not duly paid.
The official strongly warned against tampering with meters and said anyone caught committing such a crime would be severely punished. He said meters were thoroughly checked before installation to ensure that they were in good condition. “The company makes periodic checks to make sure that the meters are working properly and have not been tampered with,” he explained.
Al-Yamani refuted claims that the bills were prepared on estimated consumption. “We read the meters before we issue the bill,” he said.
He said meter readings are automatically stored and will remain in the databank for three months. In case of any discrepancy, the company would send the meter reader to make a new reading.
