How to verify your prepaid electricity meter: Converting from KRN1 to KRN2

Electricity service providers have confirmed that prepaid meters must be upgraded by 24 November.

A deadline related to the token identifier rollover was extended to 31 March, but this does not apply to the meters used by prepaid customers.

The South African Local Government Association’s (Salga) extension was aimed at municipalities, allowing them to continue generating KRN1 codes that can be converted to KRN2 codes.

Difference between KRN1 and KRN2

KRN stands for Key Revision Number which is a number that identifies a vending key within a supply group.

The upgrading of the meters and the software used is similar to that of a mobile phone update, states City Power.

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The upgrade comes with a host of features that “facilitate better monitoring and management of electricity usage.”

“The conversion from KRN1 to KRN2 is crucial for several reasons, including making sure that customers move away from old conventional meters to smart or semi-smart meters,” confirmed City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena.

In the case of tampering, upgraded meters will send a signal to operators, allowing authorities to act against any potential criminality.

“The meter coding upgrade also positions our infrastructure to support future technological advancements and innovations in energy management,” added Mangena.

Three ways to verify meter upgrade

Eskom and City Power have urged customers to ensure their meters are ready to receive KRN2 units after 24 November.

Units loaded before 24 November will be carried over, by no new units can be loaded if the meter has not received the update.

For City Power customers to verify if their meters are ready for the rollover, they can follow any of these three steps:

• Receipt verification: After purchasing electricity units, check your receipt. If your prepaid meter has been converted, it will indicate “KRN 2” underneath the token units.
• Contact our call centre: For immediate assistance, you can reach out to City Power’s call centre toll-free number on 0800 202 925. Our representatives are available to help you confirm the status of your meter.
• Visit our customer service centres: You are welcome to visit any of our customer service centres, where our staff will assist you in verifying your meter status.

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Eskom customers can follow these DIY steps to verify their meters:

• Key in the first 20 digits of your recode token and wait for it to be accepted
• Key in the second 20 digits of your recode token and wait for it to be accepted
• Very important final step — key in the 20 digits of your purchased token to recharge your meter

Salga explains deadline extension

The deadline extension relates to the key change tokens which are dispensed to upgrade the software of the meters.

“[The extension] will allow municipalities to generate key change tokens for meters that would still be on KRN1 after November 2024 and get them converted to KRN2,” Salga’s Dr Silas Mulaudzi told The Citizen.

Their 1,993 base-date vending keys that will expire on 24 November. No further token identifier rollover key change tokens can be generated thereafter.

“The Standard Transfer Specification Association has developed a technical solution to extend the validity period of these 1993 base date vending keys by six months,” explained Mulaudi.

“Municipalities should pre-generate key change tokens for all known meters before the cut-off date and deal with the outstanding meters on a case-by-case basis using the vending key extension,” he concluded.

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