Deadline looms for electricity meters replacement
With the deadline for replacing prepaid electricity meters looming next month, residents in the Madibeng municipal area are getting panicky because their meters have not been replaced yet.

During the installation of prepaid meters, the municipality has also been disconnecting illegal connections.
Kormorant has been receiving several calls from residents fearing that they may be left in the dark after 24 November 2024 when all prepaid meters based on STS technology will stop dispensing electricity on 24 November 2024. The TID is referenced to a base date of 1993 and will run out of range in 2024 (known as the TID Rollover event), thus causing the prepayment meter to stop accepting new tokens and stop dispensing electricity after the existing credits are used up.
Madibeng Municipality said this week it had replaced, or reset, 7 642 of the 21 722 prepaid meters in the municipal area. With only 6 weeks, or 31 working days left, the municipality still has to replace 14 079 meters. To replace this amount of meters in the allocated time, the municipality will have to replace 440 meters per day, 55 meters per hour!
According to Madibeng spokesperson Tumelo Tshabalala the municipality has also identified 11,914 meters as passive or non-purchasing, indicating a lack of meter engagement or usage.
“To address these challenges, Madibeng Municipality is implementing mitigation measures, such as the installation of additional meters. These efforts are part of a broader initiative to reduce the number of passive meters, thereby aiming to enhance meter functionality and ensure better utility service delivery for residents.”