Metros must prioritise TID Rollover
The Gauteng South African Local Government Association (Salga) calls upon municipalities to prioritise adherence to Standard Transfer Specifications, safeguarding uninterrupted service delivery to local communities.
The Standard Transfer Specification (STS) has played a key role in shaping the global landscape for electricity and utility prepayment tokens since its introduction in SA in 1993.
Today, with over 10m STS electricity prepaid meters in the country, it has become a cornerstone in the management of electricity and water utilities, ensuring secure and reliable transactions.
The global significance of the STS protocol is underscored by its adoption by over 500 utilities across more than 40 countries worldwide.
In SA alone, Eskom manages seven million meters, while municipalities oversee an additional three million, highlighting the trust and reliability placed in the STS standard.
However, a critical challenge looms on the horizon for SA’s electricity utilities in the form of the TID Rollover event. All prepayment meters using STS technology will cease electricity dispensing on November 24, 2024.
This is due to the TID being referenced to a base date of 1993, and the TID Rollover event will cause the prepayment meters to reject tokens with a TID calculated on the base date, marking them as old tokens.
Salga Gauteng chairperson Jongizizwe Dlabathi said the impending TID Rollover event poses a significant challenge to the seamless functioning of our electricity utilities.
“It is imperative that municipalities take immediate action to manage this event for each prepayment meter. Failing to do so may result in disruptions to service levels, sales, and revenue collection. The process involved in managing the TID Rollover event requires substantial time, effort, and resource allocation,” Dlabathi said.
He urged all municipalities to urgently commence the remedial action process to ensure a smooth transition and mitigate the risks associated with the TID rollover.
Salga calls upon all municipalities to prioritise the implementation of necessary measures – securing a smooth transition and safeguarding the uninterrupted provision of electricity to end-user customers.
The STS system’s key features, such as the unique Token Identifier (TID) encoded into the 20 digits, ensure exclusive and secure transactions.
“This system prevents various fraudulent activities, including token replay, tampering, and stolen vending stations, making it an integral part of safeguarding utility systems. The global standards set by STS underscore its significance in meeting the evolving needs of utility services in the 21st century,” Salga stated.
The Gauteng Salga remains committed to supporting municipalities in navigating this challenge and ensuring the continued reliability and efficiency of our electricity utilities.
