City gears up for new prepaid electricity system
"We want to ensure that prepaid electricity customers continue to receive services when the new system kicks in towards the end of 2024," said MMC Sun.
The current prepaid electricity voucher system will run out of voucher sequences for the unique tokens specifically produced for each meter by November 24 next year.
The token identifier (TID) system is a security measure that ensures a token can only be used once and for the meter number it was purchased.
This means that tokens purchased after this date will not be recognised by the current prepaid meters installed in 1993.
To resolve this system issue, City Power will embark on a programme to upgrade the smart meters or replace older meters.
According to MMC Micheal Sun, it is a system-linked limitation and not unexpected. However, articles published in the media have caused panic in the public space.
“We certainly do not want to scramble at the last minute. We want to ensure that prepaid electricity customers continue to receive services when the new system kicks in toward the end of next year.
“The standard transfer specification (STS) system has been in place since 1993 and will stop dispensing voucher sequences on November 24 next year.
“The STS provides the facility of generating tokens which can only be used by the intended meter, and in the case of credit tokens, can only be used once in that meter.
“When the time comes, the prepaid meters will stop accepting new credit tokens and will stop dispensing electricity after the existing credits are used up,” said Sun.
Sun emphasised that any tokens generated after this date and using the 24-digit number will be rejected by the meters as being old tokens.
“I urge customers with affected meters in Johannesburg to cooperate with the City Power officials when they arrive at your premises to upgrade or replace your meters,” said Sun.
He added that the community should always ask the City Power technicians to show them their appointment cards.
How to identify a City Power official:
The staff card will have the name of the official, the ID number, the department the official is from, and an expiry date written on a colour-coded strip. Blue is for permanent employees, green is for meter readers, purple is for contractors, red is for cut-off teams and black is for interns/temporary staff;
On the back of the card is a hologram of City Power’s firefly logo and the contact numbers for the risk team should you want to verify the staff member’s ID number.
If you are still unsure, call 011 490 7900/7911/7553 for assistance.
