Knysna Municipal Manager Ombali Sebola announced that the organisation is taking proactive steps to ensure a smooth transition to updated electricity meters ahead of the worldwide November 2024 deadline.
“We are however addressing two separate issues,” said Sebola. “On the one hand we are embarking on an audit and verification process of conventional and prepaid water and electricity meters and, on the other hand, we are rolling out a programme to update prepaid electricity meters.”
The auditing and verification process aims to identify illegal connections, tampered and broken meters, and to ensure that the meters deliver complete and accurate readings. Confirming that meters are working correctly also confirms that users are getting the benefit of every unit they purchase. This process will also assist in cleaning the municipality’s debtor’s database and will protect the revenue generated from supplying electricity.
The second issue addresses the national problem of upgrading prepaid electricity meters before the existing software expires on 24 November 2024, also known as the token identifier (TID) rollover. “This is very easy to do,” Sebola explained. “Meters can be upgraded by a manual changeover or with a meter key change. We are tackling both of these issues during the month of August, conducting the audit and verification programme and TID rollover in certain municipal areas.”
Areas that will be serviced during August include Hornlee, Concordia, Khayalethu, Rheenendal, Smutsville and the Island in Sedgefield. Property owners and residents are requested to assist the municipality by allowing the fieldworkers onto premises and into businesses. The Development Bank of Southern Africa has appointed Professional Mobile Mapping (Pty) Ltd to conduct the conventional and prepaid meter audit and verification, as well as the TID rollover. “Please do ask our fieldworkers to show you a signed instruction letter from the municipality, as well as their identification tag and Identity Document before allowing anyone onto your property,” urged Sebola. “But please cooperate with our representatives to ensure a smooth verification and changeover process.”
Updates to the software of prepaid electricity meters will happen in a phased approach ahead of the deadline. Only when an area is reached for updating, as per the schedule, will customers get the update codes with their normal purchase. When making a purchase, customers will receive two 20-digit update codes along with their usual prepaid token. When your area is being updated and you receive these two 20-digit codes along with your token, follow these easy steps:
- Enter the first 20-digit update code and wait for it to be accepted.
- Enter the second 20-digit update code and wait for it to be accepted.
- Enter the usual 20-digit token to recharge units as normal.
“It is very important to enter these codes into your meter once they have been issued, before entering the recharge token,” Sebola said. “Once the update codes have been issued to a meter, that meter will not accept any recharge tokens until the update codes have been entered. You will retain any units that are still registered on your meter before entering your update codes.”
“We are one of the few municipalities who are already actively working on a plan to make sure that our residents’ meters are updated well ahead of the deadline, while causing as little inconvenience as possible,” he concluded. “We are determined to make this transition as easy as possible, and will continue to keep our residents up to date with any developments.”
Any queries may be directed to the Knysna Municipality Helpdesk at 044 302 6558/6597.