Power Utility Eskom has extended the deadline for prepaid electricity meters upgrade, as over a million customers, largely zero buyers, are reported to have not upgraded their meters.
In a statement on Friday, the power utility explained current zero buyers with active meters have been granted an extension to update their meters to be KRN2 (Key Revision Number 2) compliant beyond the November as 24 deadline.
This announcement follows hundreds of South Africans who have lined up at Eskom offices nationwide to recode their prepaid meters, driven by the looming deadlines and fears of losing power.
Residents braved the early hours to reach these crucial centres, eager to ensure their electricity supply remained uninterrupted, yet many found themselves facing frustration as chronic delays beset the process.
Despite announcing that the deadline for upgrades has been extended, the frustrations of the public have highlighted significant dissatisfaction with how the process has been handled.
Simon Mamba, a resident of Lenasia, south of Soweto, shared his ordeal upon arrival at the centre on Sunday.
“I got here at 4 alongside other elderly people to register. The queue extended from the garage. They opened their gates at 7 o’clock.The queue was extremely slow; it started moving around 12 when they brought in more staff. But what they failed to do was have marshals, and they weren’t taking in elderly people to move ahead in the queue.
“Imagine that the queue is long; some did not take their medication. Another thing is that they only delivered toilets around 12. So you can see that from the morning people struggled. City Power or Eskom failed to organise this properly while they knew that people would come out in numbers,” he said, expressing frustrations.
He also expressed dissatisfaction with the slow progress, noting that the queue has barely begun to move until midday, revealing elderly people struggled among the crowds without proper access to facilities, leading to unnecessary discomfort during the long wait.
In an interview on Sunday, Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena explained the process further, expressing the importance of allowing residents to avoid rushing and facing undue hardship while waiting in lengthy queues.
She also acknowledged the difficulty of waiting in hot weather, urging those without active meters to refrain from queuing, as the utility would not be able to assist them immediately.
“As we can see, it is not healthy to be in these long queues especially when it’s so hot outside. So those that don’t have meters, especially those who have reached the centre, should leave those queues as we cannot assist them immediately.
“However, from Monday and onwards, we’ll be able to assist, and then we will announce when we are going to, cut, or when is the deadline for this.
“For those who know their meter numbers and have their meters active, we advise them to proceed to buy electricity,” she added, illustrating the ongoing need for customers to adapt to the new system.
Eskom explained that a technological advancement has enabled the creation of Key Change Tokens (KCT) on the online vending system, designed to facilitate the process of ensuring all prepaid customers are compliant.
Zero buyers, who currently have non-compliant meters, must visit their designated vending sites with their meter numbers to purchase electricity and obtain KCTs to transition their meters into KRN2 compliance.
The Star