The deadline for updating prepaid electricity meters is fast approaching. On Sunday,24 November, non-updated prepaid electricity meters will become non-operational. This gives residents less than a month to process the update, however many South Africans may still not know how to go about this.
Eskom released a step-by-step guide on updating prepaid electricity meters alongside its Key Revision Number (KRN) dashboard. To start, customers must determine whether Eskom or their municipal power provider has recoded their meter from KRN 1 to KRN 2.
To check the status, customers can enter the code 1844 6744 0738 4377 2416 on their prepaid electricity meter’s keypad. The screen will display the number 1 or 2, possibly accompanied by letters.
Meters displaying the number 1 require recoding to KRN 2.
According to Eskom, if your meter has not been recoded, it will not accept the tokens you have purchased, which means it will stop working. All prepaid meters must be recoded, whether you are an Eskom customer or a municipally supplied customer.
To recode your meter:
Get two key change tokens from your local or online vendor when Eskom notifies you that your area is active.
Enter the first 20-digit recode token and wait for confirmation.
Enter the second 20-digit recode token and wait for confirmation.
Enter the 20-digit electricity voucher to recharge on KRN version 2.
Eskom notes that once updated, previously purchased tokens will not work on the meter.
Newcastle residents experiencing difficulties with recoding and updating their meters can email their meter number to Sbusisiwe.Ngcobo@newcastle.gov.za to verify if their meter has been upgraded.
