Eskom provides update on its meter recoding initiative for all its customers and is on track to meet the November 2024 deadline
Thursday, 19 October 2023: Eskom and all the electricity distributors in South Africa are required to recode prepaid electricity meters. The current Token Identifier (TID) code will expire on 24 November 2024 and after this date all Standard Transfer Specification (STS) compliant meters will stop accepting credit tokens. Most meters in the country fall within this category. In a virtual media briefing today, Eskom provided an update on its Key Revision Number (KRN) rollover project which is aimed at ensuring that all Eskom 6.8 million prepaid electricity meters are recoded before the deadline. This comes after a successful Phase 1 deployment in August and September 2023, dedicated to clear all the initial glitches and teething KRN rollover process issues were completed.
“It is all systems go for the Key Revision Number rollover project. The various provincial teams are working around the clock to ensure that everyone is recoded before the due date. We understand that there is no major project without glitches, but this is a commitment we have made to ourselves and will put every effort towards delivering on it,” said Eskom’s General Manager: Operations Enablement, Velaphi Ntuli.
Eskom confirmed that a Do It Yourself (DIY) approach is a more convenient and cost-effective approach for the rollout. Easy step-by-step guides are available on the various Eskom’s communication channels including social media platforms, Alfred Chatbot, and the Eskom website to enable a seamless process.
Progress of the rollout will be monitored centrally daily through a dashboard and support will be provided through various customer support mechanisms in place. Customers will be issued with a pair of key change tokens at the time when they purchase their normal top-up prepaid electricity via any of the Eskom approved vending channels and outlets.
Customers should make sure that all pre-purchased tokens are loaded into the meter before recoding the meter as these will not work after recoding.
“It is critical that I emphasise that the recoding of meters is done at no cost to the customers. Therefore, we caution customers against scammers who would attempt to take advantage of the recoding process and request for any form of payment for this service. Furthermore, as this is a DIY process, Eskom employees will continue to only assist customers that have logged queries and received proper reference numbers”, explained Eskom’s Senior Manager for Customer Services, Portia Papu.
“The process of buying electricity has not changed. Customers will still be able to buy electricity from major banks, online platforms, fuel-filling (service) stations, prepaid electricity vending agents and retailers across the country as they are currently doing,” added Papu.
It is important for customers to take note that should they not recode their meter, the meter will become inactive after 24 November 2024.
More information on Eskom’s Key Revision Number rollout project is available at: https://www.eskom.co.za/distribution/key-revision-number/
ENDS
