eThekwini to roll out new prepaid electricity token system after successful pilot
|Published
A resident punches in a prepaid electricity token into an electricity meter. EThekwini Municipality’s Token Identifier (TID) Rollover project kicks off July 1, 2023 after having been piloted in Magabheni in June. File Picture: Danie van der Lith/African News Agency
Durban - EThekwini Municipality said that following a successful pilot of the new prepaid electricity token system, the City was going ahead with the process of rolling over its prepaid system to the new STS 6 format in July.
The City said the Token Identifier (TID) Rollover project would start on July 1 after having been piloted in Magabheni in June.
Municipal spokesperson Lindiwe Khuzwayo said the roll-over would ensure that customers who used prepaid electricity would still be able to purchase tokens after the November 24, 2024, deadline when the current format would no longer be usable.
“More than 15 000 of eThekwini’s 436 000 prepaid electricity meters have already been rolled over to the new format during the pilot phase, making eThekwini one of the leading metros in the roll-over process.”
Khuzwayo said the City had adopted a phased approach to manage the process better and to minimise bottlenecks in the roll-over project.
Areas that are to be rolled over from next week, July 1, include:
- Westville,
- Chiltern Hills,
- Cowies Hill,
- Atholl Heights,
- Dawncrest,
- Dawncliffe,
- Beverly Hills,
- Claire Estate,
- Palmiet, Rouken Glen,
- Grayleigh,
- Erin-Go-Bragth,
- Westville South,
- Westville North,
- Reservoir Hills
The municipality said it would share the roll-over schedule on an ongoing basis to alert customers when it is their turn to be rolled over.
This is what prepaid electricity customers are required to do for the TID rollover:
- During the month that an area gets rolled over, customers in that area are required to visit any Sizakala Centre or Customer Services Centre to receive a Key Change Token.
- They must then enter this token into their meter. Once this is done customers will be able to continue purchasing electricity the normal way from all vendors.
- Customers must only visit Sizakala to get the Key Change Token during the month that their area gets rolled over, not before.
- Once an area has been rolled over, customers will not be able to buy tokens via third-party vendors until they have gone to Sizakala to receive their Key Change Token.
- Customers must also ensure that they redeem all the tokens they have already bought before entering the Key Change Token as they will not be able to use any previous token once they have loaded the Key Change Token.
- The City said customers in Westville, Cowies Hill and surrounding areas as listed above must go to Sizakala to get their Key Change Token from next Saturday, July 1.
“With just 74 weeks left until November 24, 2024, customers are encouraged to keep up with municipal communications about when their area is being rolled over and to visit Sizakala to receive their Key Change Token. Failure to do so could result in prepaid electricity meters shutting down on the deadline date.”
Khuzwayo added that customers were further advised not to panic as the schedule had been designed for the project to be completed by March 2024, which would give the municipality ample time to deal with any problems before the November 2024 deadline.
“The schedule with roll-over dates per area will be shared on an ongoing basis on eThekwini’s website, social media platforms, and on various media. Ward councillors will also have a copy of the schedule,”she said.
For queries related to the TID project, contact 0803 111 111.