Read your own meter in Johannesburg, and submit the reading

A reading you take yourself is your best evidence against an estimated or catch-up bill. This guide shows how to find and read a water meter, what to photograph, and how the City and City Power say you can submit a reading.

General information, not legal advice.

Why it matters

When the City can't read your meter, it bills an estimate. Clause 9.3 of the City's Credit Control and Debt Collection Policy says estimates "will be based on the average monthly consumption of services registered over the 12 preceding months", and that the account is adjusted once an actual reading is obtained. Your own dated readings let you check both: whether the estimate was fair, and whether the adjustment is right. See estimated readings and estimated electricity readings.

Your readings don't let you skip paying the estimate. Clause 10.9 says that when estimated accounts are rendered, "the customer must pay and remains liable for the payment of estimates charged to the account." To challenge an estimate, use the query process; how to dispute a Joburg bill says what to keep paying while you do.

Find your water meter

The City says your meter "will normally be placed on the wall close to your front boundary line, in a meter box". If you can't find it, its page gives two numbers that can help: the Joburg call centre on 0860 562 874, and Joburg Water on 011 688 1500.

Each meter has its own number. If your bill shows a meter number, check that it matches the one on your meter. A mismatch can mean you're billed for another meter, so query it straight away. City Power's 2025 meter audit was set up partly to check that each meter is linked to the correct account.

Read it

These steps are for water meters. For electricity, follow City Power's instructions under "Submit it" below. The City's guidance for the most common household water meters:

Write down the meter number. The City's example is 203378.
Read the black digits only. A four-digit meter might show 0631; a five-digit meter, 00631.

Your bill charges water in kilolitres (kl); 1 kl is 1,000 litres. The City's examples read only the black digits, which count whole kilolitres. On most meters, red digits or small dials show part of a kilolitre.

Worked example. The reading goes from 0631 to 0649 between 1 and 31 October: 18 kl in 30 days. That's your real use for the month, to compare with what the bill charged.

Photograph it

Take a clear photo that shows the meter number, the reading and the date. City Power asks for exactly this for electricity readings, and it works as a record for water too. Read on about the same day each month, so the periods compare, and keep the photos together.

Submit it

Water and electricity through eJoburg. On 14 September 2022 the City said ratepayers can capture "water and electricity meter readings" on eJoburg, its online self-help portal, and that registered users get an SMS each time the system opens for readings. The photo must be submitted "by a specific date reflected on your account". The City's water page adds:

Link your account to your eJoburg profile with the PIN printed on your most recent statement.
If a reading is much higher or lower than usual, you'll be asked for the reason. Meter readers verify readings.
You can enter several readings in a month, but only the latest one at billing time is used.
The best time is about 15 days before the payment due date.

Another City page says the City does not offer online meter reading, and that you can give your reading by phone on 0860 562 874, one week before the billing date. The City's pages don't agree, and their deadlines differ too: about 15 days before the payment due date on one, one week before the billing date on the other. The pages carry a 2018 copyright line and may be out of date. So submit early, phone 0860 562 874 to confirm the cut-off for your account and which route works now, and ask for a reference number.

Electricity on a credit meter. City Power took over electricity billing from 1 July 2025. It asks customers with manual meters to submit a photo showing the meter number, the reading and the date, by email to billing@citypower.co.za or through the e-Joburg portal, during their area's reading window. Readings submitted outside the window "will not be used for billing", and "all readings are subject to quarterly audits". Smart meters send their readings automatically.

Then check the bill

When the bill arrives, compare its reading with your own, and see whether it's marked actual (A) or estimated (E). The free check takes your readings and dates and compares each estimate with your actual use. If something is wrong, how to dispute a Joburg bill gives the steps.