Tshwane makes progress on prepaid meter reconditioning project

The Tshwane metro has made significant progress regarding the reconditioning of prepaid meters to ensure they are compliant with the new standard transfer specification 2 (STS2) before 24 November.

This is to avoid the majority of prepaid clients being left in darkness and without power.

Currently, 100% of the prepaid meters that require STS-2 activation have been loaded on the vending system, while 55.6% of meters have been successfully converted and are STS-2 compliant.

The new Token Identification (TID) process arrives as the machine generating key coupon digits for prepaid meters is running out of codes to generate for prepaid meters.

The current prepaid metering software system, which creates credit tokens for prepaid electricity meters, will stop generating codes.

Prepaid meters not reconditioned before 24 November will not load tokens, leading to an electricity black-out.

MMC for Utilities Themba Fosi said the TID rollover project is a crucial initiative to upgrade the city’s prepaid electricity meters to align with the latest STS-2 compliance.

“This programme, which is managed by the Energy and Electricity Department, is progressing well and is critical to ensuring the continued functionality of prepaid meters beyond 24 November.”

Fosi said the TID rollover has been systematically executed across the regions of Tshwane, with each region’s prepaid meters being upgraded according to a structured timeline.

He said currently, 100% of the prepaid meters that require STS-2 activation have been loaded on the vending system so that customers can receive their conversion TID tokens.

Key achievements:

– Total prepaid meters loaded: 349 801 meters (100% of the meters that require STS-2 conversion)

– Successful transactions on STS-2: 194 518 meters (55.6% of the total)

– Pending transactions for STS-2 activation: 154 957 meters (44.3% of the total)

Fosi said the metro has engaged ward councillors to ensure communities are informed, made aware of the upgrade process, and given assistance with any queries or support they may need.

“This collaborative effort is essential for smoothly implementing the TID rollover,” Fosi said.

He reminded residents that if a meter has been tampered with or if ghost vending activities are detected, the meter will not be able to be upgraded to STS-2.

“This will result in the meter becoming non-functional, as it will no longer be able to read tokens.”

He encouraged residents to avoid tampering with meters and to refrain from engaging in illegal connections.

“We urge all residents to ensure their prepaid meters are updated to STS-2 on time before the 24 November deadline by following the instructions provided by the metro.”

Residents can contact the Tshwane customer care lines for assistance, or visit its website for more information.

Alternatively, customers can send a WhatsApp message to the following numbers:

Regions 1, 2, and 5: 072 149 8552

Regions 3 and 6: 076 892 7328

Regions 4 and 7: 063 671 3137.

The WhatsApp message must include the customer’s City of Tshwane account number, address, contact number and prepaid meter number.