Prepaid electricity token ID rollover deadline extended by six months

The deadline for the prepaid electricity token identifier project has been extended.

The South African Local Government Association (Salga) had set the date at 24 November, but have extended the deadline to 31 May 2025.

City Power stated that they had upgraded 99% of their prepaid meters, but welcomed the extension to allow customers a smoother transition.

Token identifier rollover project

The token identifier rollover project was made necessary because of the limitations of the 20-digit token codes.  

As a safety feature to avoid duplication, the unique token codes cannot be repeated and must be updated periodically.

ALSO READ: Electricity outages: These are City Power’s most problematic areas

Standard Transfer Specification Association is the company whose software generates the codes and a new edition of said software is being rolled out.

City Power and other municipal electricity billing and maintenance companies have been working hard to meet the deadline, but have been given an extra six months to complete their work.

99% of meters ready for rollover

City Power reported on Friday that 98% of the prepaid meters in the inner city had been audited replaced or reconfigured.

Alexandra’s completion rate sat at 89% while meters overseen by the Midrand and Hursthill depots were at 99% completion.

ALSO READ: Electricity bills: City Power goes after Randburg residential complexes and business owing R22.9 million

Roodepoort, Reuven, Randburg and Lenasia were the City Power jurisdictions with the highest completion rate, sitting 99.5%.

“The project is yielding positive results, as evidenced by Mayibuye, which is now collecting revenue after many residents were metered,” stated City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena.

140,000 meters not generating revenue

The city is still addressing the challenge of tampered meters, saying over 140,000 meters were not registering tokens.  

City Power relayed that their technicians were being denied access to properties with dead meters, leading them to believe meters being bypassed to avoid payment.

“Our goal is to ensure all customers are metered and accounted for, and that everyone pays their fair share for electricity usage,” concluded Mangena.

Meter auditing an replacing is free and City Power urge customers not to pay any technicians seeking payment.

Technicians’ credentials may be verified by calling the number reflected on their valid ID cards.

NOW READ: Only 11% of Alex’s City Power customers pay for their electricity… and it used to be far worse