Prepaid electricity token identifier project deadline extended to 31 May 2025

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

The South African Local Government Association (Salga) has extended the deadline for the prepaid electricity token identifier project from 24 November 2024 to 31 May 2025.

This project is necessary due to the limitations of the 20-digit token codes, which cannot be repeated as a safety feature to avoid duplication.

As a result, the unique token codes must be updated periodically.

Standard Transfer Specification Association generates the codes through its software, and a new edition of the software is being rolled out.

City Power and other municipal electricity billing and maintenance companies have been working hard to meet the deadline and have welcomed the extension.

This will allow them to complete the work and ensure a smooth transition for customers.

On Friday, City Power reported 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.

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

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

City Power said their technicians were being denied access to properties with dead meters, leading them to believe that meters are 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 and replacing is free and City Power urges customers not to pay any technicians seeking payment.

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