V-in-V (Indonesian Blogger in Saigon)

I got a big surprises this morning.  The electricity in my house went out which, for a Friday, is normal.  What was not normal was hearing the loud music from my neighbor’s house.  Power outages normally means quiet alleyways, usually.  So I opened my balcony door and saw EVN climbing down the pull.  They turned off my electricity.

The poor guy who turned the electricity off knew the problem I was having with EVN over August’s reading.  Luckily he stayed near my house so we can talk.  He had no choice but to turn off the electricity, that was his job.  We had to call his manager to get approval to turn the electricity back on.  Finally EVN will let us speak with them to discuss the high August reading.

The manager agreed to let the EVN staff member climb back up the utility pull to turn on my electricity.  On Monday we meet with EVN.

On a more funny note, my neighbor’s really enjoyed the “show” they saw.  Mr. Ut laughed at me for not paying but when he saw the August bill, he understood.  I think it amused them more when EVN turned the electricity back on.

Overall, though, I am hearing from friends that ‘stealing’ electricity is more common than reported in the media.  The question is how can somebody steal electricity from houses when the meter is located inside the house?

Hopefully on Monday we can make a compromise for August so I we can avoid this in the future.  I only have about 2 months left in this house.

On a positive note, EVN’s employees are very nice, I never had problems with them.  They are just doing their jobs and they have been very helpful to me at my house.  The EVN staff member could have just left and continued doing his work.  He did not have to stay at my house.  He did it as a courtesy and I really appreciate that.

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