On Sunday, 24 November 2024, millions of prepaid electricity meters across South Africa will stop accepting voucher tokens on outdated units. As this critical deadline looms, Newcastle Municipality’s mayor is urging all prepaid electricity customers to ensure their meters are updated before the allocated deadline.
As explained by the Newcastle Municipality’s Communications Unit, this update is crucial to prevent any disruptions or complications with their electricity supply.
Moreover, Eskom has been calling on residents to confirm and register their meter details as part of a system update, emphasising the importance of timely action to avoid inconvenience.
Additionally, the Communications Unit stated, “As the Municipality continues to work alongside Eskom to ensure the smooth operation of prepaid electricity systems, the mayor remains focused on supporting residents where it matters most.
Moreover, the Communications Unit stressed that residents are encouraged to take the necessary steps to update their prepaid meters before the 24 November deadline, avoiding any interruptions to their electricity service.
“The Municipality, under Mayor Dube’s guidance, remains committed to ensuring that all residents have access to the resources and support they need,” stated the Communications Unit.
While the Newcastle Municipality is taking steps to support residents, the urgency surrounding this issue has intensified, with Eskom urging prepaid electricity customers to recode their meters by 24 November 2024, in compliance with the requirements set by the Standard Transfer Specification Association (STSA). After this date, Eskom has warned that prepaid meters will no longer accept electricity tokens unless they have been updated to the required Key Revision Number (KRN) 2.
Eskom has stated that approximately 6.9 million prepaid meters across Eskom-supplied areas are affected by this change. Furthermore, the power utility noted that should customers fail to recode their meters by the deadline, they will no longer be able to load electricity tokens, resulting in their meters becoming inoperable.
According to Eskom, 97% of the affected meters have already been pre-coded, making it easier for customers to complete the update themselves. This Do-It-Yourself (DIY) process requires customers to purchase credit tokens from authorised vendors. Upon purchase, they will receive two sets of 20-digit codes, which must be entered into the meter to complete the upgrade.
With the deadline fast approaching, it should be stressed that the Newcastle Municipality launched a program in January 2023 to upgrade both electricity and water prepaid meters to ensure that residents would not face service disruptions when the deadline for the upgrade finally arrived.
As reported by Newcastillian News, this initiative included an audit of all the necessary meters across Newcastle, ensuring the transition would be as smooth as possible for residents.
To read more, click here.
Residents who rely on prepaid meters are also urged to check their meters first before reporting on Alfred Chatbot or visiting their nearest Eskom offices. To check the meter, customers need to enter 1844 6744 -738 4377 2416. Should this number not work, Eskom explained that customers can punch in the following unique numbers, according to the make of their meters:
- L&G (E460) – i057 enter
- L&G (PLC2) – i057
- Conlong – #005#
- Voltex – 005 enter
- Nyamezela – Press red and hold until display doots show, then type 005 enter
“If the meter displays 2, this means that the meter has been recoded and customers may continue to buy tokens, If the meter displays 1, then customers need to update their details through Alfred, the Eskom Chatbot, at www.alfred.eskom.co.za/chatroom/ by simply selecting “Update my details” and completing the fields displayed,” explained Eskom, adding that it has also opened its Customer Services Hubs and Customer Network Centres (CNCs) to further help its customers that are still experiencing problems. Those in need of further help can also contact Eskom’s helpline at 0860 037 566.
What are your thoughts on the above? Share your views in the comment section below.
Comments 3
No registered prepared Electricity Eskom.
Hello!
Good cheer to all on this beautiful day!!!!!
Good luck 🙂
Eskom is currenlty busy with the installation in our area (Skombaren) Dannhauser(KZN). We cant even check if our boxes shows a 1 or 2 cause there is no power in our boxes yet