Tshwane to fork out R5.2m for prepaid meter update
It is estimated that approximately 70 million prepayment meters will be affected if not reconditioned by 2024.
The metro’s current prepaid metering software system, which creates credit tokens for prepaid electricity meters, will stop generating codes as the unique numbers are running out.
If meters are not reconditioned before November 24, 2024, they will cease functioning as new tokens generated will not operate on non-updated meters, stopping the dispensing of electricity to approximately 70 million customers.
The Tshwane metro is, however, upgradING its current systems to be compliant with new credit token numbers.
The cost of the upgrade is R5.2-million.
This will ensure that Tshwane’s Power-C Metering Africa (PCMA) and Landis + Gyr Suprima for prepayment electricity meters are upgraded as their old software faces limitations.
The metro’s planned upgrade is scheduled after the Standard Transfer Specification Association (STSA) director Don Taylor said millions of meters were facing a crisis of non-functionality by 2024.
“We estimate that approximately 70 million prepayment meters globally will be affected by 2024.
“We, therefore, urge the industry to upgrade to STS Edition 2 immediately, start manufacturing new meters on the 2014 base date and commence the token identifier (TID) roll-over programme as soon as possible.”
Taylor said millions of prepaid meters required a reset before November 24, 2024, which targeted municipalities, various utility agencies, prepaid meter manufacturers and sub-vendors.
“The system that creates the credit tokens will run out of numbers in November 2024 and all existing meters will stop accepting credit tokens.
“The TID is calculated as the number of minutes that have elapsed since a defined base date of 1993 up to the time of creating the token. The TID has a limited range and will run out in November 2024.
“All prepayment meters based on the STS technology will stop dispensing electricity, thus presenting a significant risk to the service levels of all sub-metering vendors to end-user customers in the electricity, water and gas utilities business.”
He explained that each credit token had a unique TID encoded into the 20 digits to prevent token replay for meters.
Since 2020, the STS Association has embarked on a communication drive to deliver critical information to users of STS meters globally.
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Tshwane MMC for utilities Daryl Johnston confirmed that the updating of the prepaid meters was due to a standard requirement to update the base date to ensure that tokens continue to be accepted.
“Once our servers are updated, we will begin updating customers’ meters as part of a year-long project. We anticipate completing this process by the end of 2023.”
Johnston said the upgrade would ensure that the metros pre-paid meter project was completed soon, allowing customers operating without challenges.
“We will also use this opportunity to revisit our prepaid metering fleet as part of a revenue protection operation to check the functioning of all meters.”
He said meters which were damaged or had been tampered with, would see the metro action out appropriate services.
Johnston said all Tshwane residents would move to prepaid metering in line with a national directive and the metro’s own by-laws which were enacted in 2017 in alignment with that direction.
The by-law states that “the supply, distribution and reticulation of electricity by the municipality to all consumers shall be on a smart pre-payment basis as metered and paid for using a smart pre-payment meter system”.
“All customers are being moved to prepaid, whether residential or commercial, as part of a multi-year project,” said Johnston.
Tshwane has in the past been running a project to install meters and help residents monitor their electricity usage as well as improve the metro’s revenue collection by installing prepaid meters.
The meters are preloaded with 5kWh upon installation and consumers are then encouraged to load more units for their household usage immediately after installation.
Johnston said the move to smart energy would further allow the metro to respond far more effectively to electricity issues.
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