With less than six days remaining until the 24 November 2024 deadline, Eskom is urging all prepaid electricity customers to update their meters immediately to avoid an unexpected loss of electricity. Meters still using KRN1 (Key Revision Number 1) will no longer accept electricity tokens after Sunday, 24 November 2024. This means that once your current credit is depleted, you will lose power, and the meter will become inoperable, necessitating a meter replacement that could cost up to R12,000, which the customer will have to pay.
“Customers with meters still on KRN1 have likely not purchased electricity for more than six months or might be using unauthorised tokens bought from criminal syndicates. To prevent the meter from becoming inoperable, losing power, and incurring replacement costs, it is critical that all customers, including those who have not purchased electricity in the last six months or more, to buy electricity tokens from authorised vendors by 24 November 2024. This will provide them with two sets of 20-digit codes needed to recode and update their meters. We started our public awareness campaigns back in August 2023 and we continue to ask users to come forward so we can offer all the help we have available,” said Monde Bala, Eskom’s Group Executive for Distribution.
To simplify and make the recoding process accessible for all customers, Eskom has set up community support teams, including weekend assistance, and launched a comprehensive public awareness campaign in all official languages, providing guidance on using self-service tools like the Alfred Chatbot (https://alfred.eskom.co.za/chatroom/) available on Eskom’s social media platforms, newsletters, radio, and broadcast channels.
Eskom thanks those who have already completed the recoding and encourages others to act now to secure their supply.
Why It is Important to Recode
Eskom is prepared to issue tokens to all customers who have not recoded their meters, ensuring continuous and secure electricity purchases after 24 November 2024. Customers who recode by this deadline will be able to buy tokens seamlessly from all official vendors and maintain uninterrupted supply.
If your meter remains on KRN1 after the deadline, the KRN1 tokens will no longer be accepted after 24 November 2024. Once your current credit runs out, you will lose power until the meter is replaced at the cost of R12,000.
How to Check and Recode Your Meter
To verify if your meter is ready:
• Enter 1844 6744 0738 4377 2416 on your meter keypad.
• If it shows 1 or 1.2, your meter still needs to be recoded.
• If it shows 2 or 2.2, your meter is already updated and requires no further action.
To complete the recoding:
• Enter the first 20 digits of your recode token.
• Enter the second 20 digits of your recode token.
• Finally, enter the 20-digit token from your latest electricity purchase to recharge your meter.
Please refer to the dashboard on the Eskom website for the updated figures of the Eskom Key Revision Number rollover project progress: Key Revision Number – Distribution (eskom.co.za)
About Eskom and Electricity – Political Pressure: The company is often at the center of political debates regarding energy policy.
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