Further to our telephone discussions last week there were a few questions from some of the owners which arose about the system which we would like clarification on:

1. Say for some reason the modem does not work how does this effect the pre paid system?
2. For prepaid where there is time of use meters, when are the KVA and standing charges deducted from the clients ?ewallet? as this surely will have a substantial effect on the balance in the account.
3. What if there is not enough money to cover the KVA charge?
4. I understand that we will be able to give these clients access to look up their accounts through the internet so they can check their balances but for those people who do not have internet access, does the system perhaps sms them when their accounts gets low?
5. Will we be able to run printed accounts on the pre paid system as well if required and will their e wallet balances reflect on these accounts?
Please let me know as soon as possible as I must send out a letter to all the owners in this specific scheme.

1. Yes, if the modem doesn't communicate, we won't be able to switch the customer back on. This can be a serious problem. So it would be good to tell them up front that it usually updates immediately, but sometimes it might take up to half an hour, and in rare cases few hours.
   And also, if the meter does not call in at all for days, we can never switch it off, so the person could be using free electricity. However, as soon as it calls in again, the account is debited and the meter switched off if necessary.
   
2. Yes, this is the case. The MD and Fixed charge, if any, is debited as soon as the new month starts. The way the system works, is that we run a provisional bill from the beginning of the billing period (e.g. 1st of the month) up to where the meter has called in, and look at the difference with the previous such provisional bill, and charge the extra to the account. When we enter a new billing period, it first finishes off the last billing period, and then starts doing the same for the new billing period, and deducts the amount. Therefore, the MD is usually charged up front, except in the case where the MD is higher at a later point, in which case he will be charged a little bit for his MD at that time. In cases where Co-incident demand is used, it is also possible for a client's MD to go DOWN at a later point in the month, in which case his account is credited.
   
3. If there is not enough money to cover the kVA charge, his Ledger will go negative by the appropriate amount. This deficit will have to be payed before his power is switched back on.
   
4. We do not currently send an SMS when the account gets low. If enough clients ask for this feature, we can implement it. Netvendor already has such a feature, but if the funds are received by you, we don't have a mechanism for doing that yet.
   
5. The Meter Accounts for the Prepaid functions exactly the same as a normal pnpscada account, and you can generate Monthly Bills on them and print them out.
   The Ledger has a view screen where you can see all the movements on an account, and that web page can be printed out.
   We don't currently have a page that displays the Monthly Bill with the Ledger balance, but if you print the Ledger screen, you'll be able to see the movements, and the total amounts for the bills.