- Eskom and South African municipalities must update 3.2 million prepaid meters by November 24, 2024, or users will lose the ability to load new electricity tokens, risking widespread power outages.
- Approximately 2.80 million Eskom prepaid meters remain un-updated, requiring a rapid daily update rate of 84,728 meters to meet the deadline and prevent meter failures.
Eskom and South African municipalities face an urgent deadline to update around 3.2 million prepaid meters. If they do not update these meters by November 24, 2024, users will be unable to load new electricity tokens, leaving many without power.
The issue arises from a time-based security feature in all Standard Transfer Specifications (STS) prepaid meters. This feature will expire on the deadline, causing the meters to stop accepting new tokens. Fortunately, users can resolve this issue by updating their meters using two codes received when purchasing prepaid electricity from authorised vendors, like retail stores or banking apps. This process, known as “KRN rollover,” updates the meter’s key revision number (KRN) to a new version.
With only a month remaining, about 3.19 million of the 11 million STS-compliant prepaid meters in South Africa still need the update. This number represents nearly 29% of prepaid customers, who could face meter failures if they do not take action soon.
Despite knowing about this deadline for over a decade, Eskom and municipalities have only recently ramped up updates. As of October 21, 2024, municipalities have successfully updated 90% of their 4.1 million meters, leaving 395,833 outstanding. To meet the deadline, they must update around 11,994 meters daily.
Eskom’s progress has slowed. The utility has updated only about 4.11 million of its 7 million prepaid meters, less than 60%. That leaves 2.80 million meters still requiring the update. In Gauteng province alone, 382,000 meters remain un-updated, nearly equal to the total outstanding municipal meters in the country. Eskom must update a staggering 84,728 meters each day to avoid widespread meter failures.
Recent reports indicate that Eskom’s update rate has slowed significantly. Despite pre-coding 6.6 million meters by mid-July 2024, the utility struggles with customers who may purchase illegal tokens from unauthorised vendors or bypass their meters entirely. If these users do not update their meters with legitimate tokens before the deadline, they will render their meters useless.
Customers with un-updated meters might soon face inspections from Eskom. The utility now enforces fines of R6,050 for illegal connections. Eskom’s 2022/23 financial results reveal significant losses from electricity theft, estimating R5.6 billion lost to illicit connections and meter tampering.
If approximately 2.5 million customers with un-updated meters steal electricity, they could consume around 27,000 GWh based on Eskom’s average monthly consumption figures. If these users have half that consumption, they could steal about 13,500 GWh annually, aligning with Eskom’s previous financial estimates.
Calculations suggest that electricity theft could cost Eskom between R17.85 billion and R94.68 billion in revenue this financial year. This figure reflects a significant gap between reported losses and actual electricity tariffs. Updating these prepaid meters is critical. The approaching deadline poses a risk that could impact millions of South Africans.
Eskom and municipalities must act swiftly to avoid a crisis that could leave numerous customers without power. As the deadline looms, the stakes remain high for the utility and its customers. The coming weeks will prove crucial in determining whether they can meet this challenge in time.