Eskom has reiterated that prepaid electricity customers need to have re-coded their meters by November 24 and that an extension to this deadline will not be granted as falsely reported by some online platforms.

After this deadline, meters will no longer accept electricity tokens unless they are updated to Key Revision Number 2.

“In response to recent reports, including one from City Power, Eskom confirms that there will be no extension to the deadline for the Token Identifier (TID) update,” the power utility said in a statement released on October 21.

The re-coding process applies to approximately 6,9 million prepaid meters in Eskom-supplied areas nationwide. Failure to re-code by the deadline will prevent customers from loading electricity tokens, rendering their meters inoperable.

Eskom has already prepared 97% of the meters by pre-coding them, making it easy for customers to complete the process themselves. This do-it-yourself process requires customers to purchase credit tokens from authorised vendors and then receive two sets of 20-digit codes to update their meters.

The meters must be re-coded as the Standard Transfer Specification, globally used protocol for transferring electricity and utility tokens, is running out of unique numbers to issue as recharge codes.

Eskom said it will intensify its awareness campaign to ensure all customers are informed of the November deadline. The power utility encourages the public to consult the official Eskom website and social media platforms for updates.