ANC concerned about possible ‘system collapse’ if prepaid meter deadline is not met

Former Johannesburg mayor and current Minister of Trade and Industry Parks Tau said the ANC is concerned about some municipalities failing to meet the November 24 deadline to upgrade prepaid meters.

All prepaid meters in South Africa must be upgraded before 24 November 2024, because the token identity numbers will run out this year.

A token identity number is calculated from a given base date and has a life span of 31 years.

Tau briefed the media on the outcomes of the ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) discussion on matters concerning local government in Boksburg on Tuesday.

Deadline looming for municipalities

He said municipalities had until the end of the year to ensure that all residents in different communities have their meters upgraded.

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“The date of conversion into a new vending system needs to be completed before the 24^th of November 2024 and not all our municipalities are on track to meet the target,” Tau said.

He said some municipalities would struggle to meet the target because communities had refused to have prepaid meters checked.

Some residents feared being fined for tampering with the meters, while some were concerned about areas.

He said failure to have the meters upgraded would result in the community and the municipality being burdened and suffering from revenue losses.

“Because, in essence, if the vending system does not work when you buy a token that token will not work from the 24^th of November. So unless these meters have been changed, we are creating a problem for the sale of electricity,” he said.

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Tau said the failure to upgrade meters could result in the municipalities not being able to supply electricity.

“This is an existential problem because it is going to impact municipalities and communities. The municipality will not be able to sell electricity, communities will not be able to buy electricity, and therefore the system is likely to collapse,” he said.