Prepaid Electricity Meter Upgrade Sunday Deadline Sparks Chaos in South Africa

Thousands of South Africans are rushing to update their prepaid electricity meters before the critical deadline on Sunday at 8:15 PM. The update is part of a national Key Revision Number (KRN) upgrade to avoid a date rollover issue that will prevent new electricity tokens from being processed.

Eskom, however, caused confusion with claims that unupdated meters would require costly replacements, priced at R12,000. The Standard Transfer Specification Association (STSA), which oversees the metering standard, disputes this. According to the STSA, customers will still be able to update their meters after the deadline by entering a "key change token" once credit is depleted. "Meter replacement is not expected in these cases," said an STSA representative.

Despite assurances, long queues formed at Eskom and municipal offices, with one tragic incident in Soweto where a man reportedly died waiting in line. Eskom urges customers not to queue unnecessarily, stating, "People just need to buy electricity," according to distribution chief Monde Bala. The utility assures that the vending system errors have been resolved.

The final cutoff for updating meters to the new standard is next May. Meanwhile, data shows most paying customers are already updated, though a significant number of illegal connections remain unaccounted for. Customers unsure about their meter status are advised to check with local authorities.

The urgency continues as the clock ticks toward the Sunday deadline.