The metro says it plans to complete the national prepaid meter software update ahead of the deadline.

Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the city has until November 24 to complete the project for all vending customers.

On October 25, 223 609 of the total prepaid meter population of 349 801 had been upgraded.

This is in stark contrast to City of Cape Town customers.

“City prepaid electricity meter updates have been completed way ahead of the deadline. Over the past three years that the city has been managing the update process, customers would have received their token update codes and have inserted those once-off codes with their purchase,” said the media office of the City of Cape Town.

Tshwane customers however will be impacted if the software update is not complete by the end of the November deadline.

Mashigo said non-compliant meters will not be able to load electricity post-November 24.

“Customers will be inconvenienced as they will run out of electricity. The city is urging all residents to make use of the remaining period this month to ensure that their prepaid meters are compliant and upgraded,” warned Mashigo.

The update instruction was launched in September 2021.

The city started with the token and vending system upgrade on May 15.

“There is nothing that made this task difficult for the metro as all meter files have been migrated to STS2 and KRN 2. The outstanding task is for the customer to buy prepaid electricity which will confirm that they are not ghost vendors. Hence, the importance of purchasing a minimum of a R10 token to confirm their vending status,” said Mashigo.

He said there is back-up assistance for customers who are struggling to complete the update.

“The city has put in place a plan to assist the regions to comply with the upgrade before November 24. If there are challenges, the customer must register a complaint and receive a reference number for a technician to replace the meter,” said Mashigo.

He said the metro has engaged third-party metering companies that sell electricity on its behalf to consumers such as complexes to confirm in writing that their clients are compliant.

“The city does have areas that are supplied by Eskom and the power utility has been overseeing the upgrade in these areas.”

He said consumers should however differentiate between the update programme and the meter replacement programme.

“The software upgrade was done by utilities like the metro, Eskom and resellers. The meter replacement programme is done by the very same utilities for any meter that is non-responsive and as part of revenue protection initiatives.”

He said when prepaid consumers next purchase electricity, they will be given three sets of tokens.

“The first two will be the for upgrade and the third your monthly electricity credit. You will need to first enter two upgrade tokens and then your monthly electricity credit token into your meter,” said Mashigo.

After successfully loading the upgrade tokens, the credit token can be loaded.

If both sets of key change tokens are accepted, then your meter has been upgraded.

Mashigo said consumers must make sure that all credit tokens already purchased but not yet inserted into the meter are loaded before the meter is updated, as the meter will not accept the old tokens once upgraded:

Step 1: Enter the first 20-digit code (Key Change 1) and wait for it to be accepted.

Step 2: Do the same with the second Enter the second 20-digit code (Key Change 2). If both are accepted by your meter, then your meter has been successfully upgraded.

Step 3: Enter the third 20-digit token (electricity credit token). If accepted, it is confirmation that your prepaid meter has been upgraded to STS-2.

To check if your meter has been updated, enter the code 1844 6744 0738 4377 2416 on your prepaid meter keypad.

The screen will display either the number 1 or 2 and in some cases, there may also be alphabetic letters alongside the KRN number.

What the numbers mean:

1 – your meter is still on KRN1 and needs to be recoded/upgraded to KRN2.
2 – your meter has been recoded/upgraded to KRN2.

Your credit token slip will also reflect KRN2 when you make electricity purchases.

If you have any prepaid meter problems, you can contact the Tshwane call centre on 012 358 9999 or the toll-free number on 080 1111 556.

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