City Power’s massive TID smart meter upgrade project underway

City Power’s smart meter project has kicked off from the Hursthill depot which hopes to ‘audit, replace and reset pre-paid meters’ by November 24 next year.

In short, they are doing two things which will have no cost implications for customers:

• For non-prepaid users, who receive a municipal bill each month for electricity, they will be replacing older meters with new digital ‘smart’ ones.
• Pre-paid electricity users already have smart meters, but they will need a software upgrade to ensure users can purchase units post-November 2024.

At that time, the current pre-paid meters will not be TID (Token ID) compliant. Simply put, the identification number of the meter will be obsolete, so ensuring all City Power customers have had the upgrades is critical.

“All pre-paid meters based on the old technology will stop dispensing electricity on November 24 next year. Customers who have already bought electricity units when the meters get upgraded will be carried over according to the units found on the meter,” said City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena.

Ward 87 councillor Bridget Steer said, “Most of my ward has been completed already and it has gone smoothly and has been well organised.”

On the contrary, Ward 99 councillor Nicole van Dyk when asked for comment said, “We have not been consulted and need further information. We just received a memo when they [City Power] are supposed to consult councillors as we are the first port of call to residents.”

LOAD-LIMITING

Another function of the smart meters is that City Power will be able to communicate with them remotely. This becomes important when looking at the touted benefit of ‘load-limiting’ the utility hopes to roll out.

“Load-limiting will assist in reducing electricity consumption to ultimately contribute to the management and reduction of load-shedding. City Power will be able to do load-limiting every time Eskom demands some megawatts, or when consumption reaches critical levels,” said Mangena.

Ward 117 councillor Tim Truluck explained, “In theory, whenever the grid needs to reduce consumption, City Power can reduce the amount of power a meter can draw. This should be enough to power a couple of lights, run your Wi-Fi, television and so on. But if you try to use it to run your geyser, for example, it will trip.”

It is envisaged that limiting how much power people can use in a specific timeframe, will alleviate or reduce load-shedding at higher levels where nobody has any power for extended periods.

This is not immediately on the cards for City Power customers right now but is being trialled by Eskom in some communities.

ESKOM TRIALS

About 30% of the city is supplied directly by Eskom which has been utilising load-limiting for several weeks.

Ward 94 councillor David Foley said his community were ‘ecstatic’.

“Load-shedding is pretty much a thing of the past. Residents are alerted to when the load-limiting window will begin and they turn off power-hungry appliances like ovens, pool pumps, washing machines and so on.”

Each unit can draw 10 amps of power during load-limiting and by regularly checking on your smart meter how much power you are using at a particular time, it soon becomes easy to gauge what you can run and what needs to be switched off, said Foley.

“The benefits are massive. Our infrastructure is no longer being turned on and off constantly by load-shedding. Cable thieves and others who want to damage transformers, for example, can’t do so as they are not turned off and streetlights remain on. This all goes a long way to ensuring stability in the area and reducing crime.”

INFO BOX

Some tips for when your meter is upgraded:

• Check the credentials of City Power workers before letting them onto your property. All TID agents will have a number on their branded bibs or valid ID cards.
• If your meter is being replaced, take a photo of the old meter, and get the technician’s details. It might take a few weeks for the new meter to reflect on your municipal bill.
• Pre-paid: Take a photo of how many units you have on your meter before it is upgraded.
• If you install an inverter after your pre-paid meter is upgraded, you will need a specific City Power plug to be able to buy units as it does not run through the inverter.

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