All prepaid electricity meters need to be recoded by this Sunday, but don’t panic; it’s simple, and it’s being done to end fraudulent transactions.
South Africa (21 November 2024) – If, like us, you are only just finding out that all prepaid electricity meters need to be recoded by this Sunday; otherwise, they become obsolete and will require significant investment to replace, you are not alone. It was a panic station in our home this morning, trying to check we had the right system in place. But panic was not needed; it’s a simple process, and as long as you are not doing any dodgy dealings, you will be totally fine!
At first, it felt like a scam. But a quick Google search made me realise that this was, in fact, a fact! According to sanews.gov.za, the 24th of November is the deadline for recoding meters. The awareness campaign was launched in 2023 as a way to prevent fraudulent meters from continuing to exist on the current grid.
After Sunday, 24 November, meters still using Key Revision Number 1 will no longer accept electricity tokens, rendering them inoperable. This could then lead to a meter replacement that could cost a pretty penny and at the customer’s cost. There is time to make sure this doesn’t happen to you!
If you are a landlord, please make sure to check in with your tenants about this update, today!
“Customers with meters still on KRN1 have likely not purchased electricity for more than six months or might be using unauthorised tokens bought from criminal syndicates.
“To prevent the meter from becoming inoperable, losing power, and incurring replacement costs, it is critical that all customers, including those who have not purchased electricity in the last six months or more, to buy electricity tokens from authorised vendors by 24 November 2024.
“This will provide them with two sets of 20-digit codes needed to recode and update their meters. We started our public awareness campaigns back in August 2023 and we continue to ask users to come forward so we can offer all the help we have available,” – Monde Bala, Group Executive for Distribution at Eskom
How to check and recode your meter
To verify if your meter is ready, use the following steps:
- Enter 1844 6744 0738 4377 2416 on your meter keypad.
- If it shows 1 or 1.2, your meter still needs to be recoded.
- If it shows 2 or 2.2, your meter is already updated and requires no further action.
If you need to recode, Eskom has set up a community support team, including weekend assistance, and launched a comprehensive self-service tool called Alfred Chatbot (https://alfred.eskom.co.za/chatroom/). They can be reached on all available social media platforms, too.
To complete the recoding:
- Enter the first 20 digits of your recode token.
- Enter the second 20 digits of your recode token.
- Finally, enter the 20-digit token from your latest electricity purchase to recharge your meter.
by 