DO Not get caught in the dark

South Africans must upgrade the software on their prepaid electricity meter by 24 November 2024. If not, users won’t be able to recharge and will be left without access to electricity.

What must I do to avoid going dark? 

All prepaid meters must be recoded, whether you are an Eskom customer, a direct municipality supplied customer or use a third-party vendor service. 

 

See our Help page

Prepaid Meter Switchover in the media


Eskom prepaid blunder

(MyBroadband): Following a week of South African prepaid meter users panicking to get their electricity meter updated, resulting in the death of a customer, Eskom has been criticised for not effectively communicating the deadline, Read more. 

Prepaid meter drama: Tech owner disputes Eskom’s R12000 replacement threat.

(News24): The owner of the technology that makes prepaid electricity meters work has disputed Eskom’s claim that users whose meters have not been updated by Sunday at 20:15 and who run out of credit will need a meter replacement, a penalty which Eskom has priced at R12 000. Read more.

Eskom extends deadline for electricity meter upgrade

(Timeslive): Eskom extended the deadline to upgrade prepaid meters but customers will be required to buy electricity tokens by Saturday to make their meters key revision number 2 (KRN2) compliant. Read more. 

Why is this happening?  

South Africa is transitioning prepaid electricity meters to what is known as Key Revision Number 2 (KRN2) to improve security and prevent tampering. Non-compliant meters will stop accepting prepaid tokens after 24 November 2024.

KRN2 is a software update for prepaid electricity meters mandated by the Standard Transfer Specification Association (STSA). The update ensures your meter continues to accept valid prepaid tokens after the deadline.

See our Help page

What must I do? 

The process is identical whether you are a direct municipal client, a direct Eskom client or use third-party service providers.

All service providers have been following a phased roll-out approach of upgrading prepaid meters across the country. 

How does it work? 

When you purchase prepaid electricity from your preferred vendor (i.e.: banking app, municipal walk-in centre, retail store etc) you will be provided with an additional two unique token numbers, made up of 20 digits each, known as Key Change Tokens. These two token numbers will help reprogramme your device.

Step 1 – Key in the first 20 digits of your recode token and wait for it to be accepted. 

Step 2 – Key in the second 20 digits of your recode token and wait for it to be accepted.

Step 3 – Key in the 20 digits of your purchased electricity token to recharge your meter.

 

 

Are you an Eskom client? 

For Direct Eskom Prepaid clients, in order to check whether your meter has been recoded/upgraded to KRN2 or is still on KRN1, please enter the code 1844 6744 0738 4377 2416 on your prepaid meter’s 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. 

Number 1 means your meter is still on KRN1 and needs to be recoded/upgraded to KRN2.

If you still need to upgrade visit Eskom’s online chat service here. 

See Eskom’s explainer video below. 

 


Are you a municipal client? 

Every municipality that provides electricity has its own rollout strategy.

Simply Google “[municipality name] prepaid TID” and you should be directed to a resource that can help.

Most municipalities have followed a systematic rollout programme of upgrading software of prepaid meters area by area.  You will need to contact your municipality if you suspect or are unsure whether yours has not been upgraded.

See the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) explainer video below. 



 

Do you use a third-party service provider? 

You may not be a direct prepaid client with the municipality but might instead use a pre-paid service provider instead such as netVendor, i-Switch, Citiq Prepaid or similar.

Owners of rental stock often use third-party service providers as it is generally much quicker and cheaper to install than a municipal or Eskom prepaid meter. 

If you use such a provider, contact them directly to find out if your prepaid meter is compliant. 

A stickler for detail? 

The Standard Transfer Specification (STS) describes a secure message system for carrying information between a point-of-sale and a meter and is currently finding wide application in electricity metering and payment systems. 

The video by the  Standard Transfer Specification Association provides additional information as to why the upgrade is occurring on 24 November 2024. 

For more information visit their dedicated webpage www.tidrollover.com.