Metro urges residents to upgrade prepaid meters before November deadline
According to Tshwane spokesperson, Lindela Mashigo failure to meet the November 24 deadline will result in non-compliant meters being unable to load electricity.
The Tshwane metro effort to upgrade its prepaid meters to the new KRN 2 standard are underway, with 64% of the total meter population successfully converted as of October 25.
Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the metro is pleased with the progress made so far, but acknowledges there are still challenges in certain regions.
He stated that regions 2 and 4 have achieved impressive conversion rates of over 89%, while regions 3 and 6 have also made notable progress, with completion rates above 55%.
“However, regions 5 and 7 continue to lag behind, with less than 16 000 meters upgraded,” he said.
Mashigo said measures are in place to assist these regions meet the November 24 deadline.
He said failure to meet this deadline will result in non-compliant meters being unable to load electricity, inconveniencing residents.
“The Standard Transfer Specification (STS) Association has warned that the upper limit of Unique Token Identity numbers (TIDs) under STS-1 will be reached by November 24,” Mashigo explained.
“This necessitates the upgrade to STS-2 to ensure prepaid meter security.”
Mashigo urged residents to ensure that their prepaid meter is compliant and upgraded before the deadline.
To deal with illegal connections, Mashigo said the metro council has approved penalties for tampering with meters and illegal connections.
“Tshwane is on an aggressive and non-negotiable programme to remove every tampered-with meter and impose a penalty fee of R29 000 for residential customers and R161 000 for businesses,” said Mashigo.
He said this includes punitive consumption costs, which are calculated for the period of the tampering.
Mashigo said residential customers will pay R3 000 for each month of tampering.
“Penalties are payable in full before any reconnections can be done,” he said.
He added there’s a weekly programme in place to remove illegal connections as part of safety and revenue collection.
“There are also plans to increase the inspectors to curb the tampering of meters,” stated Mashigo.
According to a post on Eskom’s X account, before the meter is recoded all pre-purchased KRN1 tokens must be loaded into the meter as these will not work after recoding.
Dear Eskom Customers,
In order to check whether your meter has been recoded/upgraded to KRN2 or is still on KRN1, please enter the code 1844 6744 0738 4377 2416 on your prepaid meter’s keypad. The screen will display either the number 1 or 2, and in some cases, there may also… pic.twitter.com/zS0cIjOdCj
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) October 24, 2024
The post states that to recode your meter, locals have to purchase electricity tokens from major banks, online platforms, fuel stations, authorised/registered prepaid electricity vending agents, and retailers nationwide.
“When purchasing electricity tokens, you will receive three sets of 20-digit numbers.”
It explains that to check if your meter is on KRN1 or KRN2, key in 1844 6744 0738 4377 2416 on your keypad.
“If you see 1, your meter is still on KRN1 and needs to be updated.
“If you see 2, your meter has already been updated.”
The post further states that your token slip/receipt will also show KRN2 when you purchase.
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