Ramokgopa visits Soweto amid lengthy queues and death before prepaid meter deadline

With millions of prepaid electricity customers yet to have their meters recoded before the key revision number rollover project's Sunday deadline, electricity and energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa embarked on an information drive to tackle the issue in Soweto.

Eskom has confirmed earlier reports that one person died in the township on Thursday while queuing to get his meter upgraded.

Eskom on Tuesday urged prepaid electricity customers to update their meters immediately to avoid a power loss as the November 24 deadline looms.

The power utility has reiterated meters using key revision number 1 (KRN1) will no longer accept electricity tokens after Sunday.

This means once the current credit is depleted, customers will lose power and the meter will become inoperable, necessitating a meter replacement that could cost customers up to R12,000.

Ramokgopa, speaking on Wednesday, said as of Tuesday morning 2.1-million people had not yet migrated and risked not having electricity after the Sunday deadline.

Panic ensued in Soweto after Eskom's announcement, with residents flocking to Eskom's various administrative offices in a bid to meet the deadline — now three days away.

Ramokgopa made a stop in Diepkloof, where he addressed those who queued at Eskom's administration office. 

“Those who don't have meters but have electricity, this queue is not for you. We'll set up a station for you on the side where we'll get your details and then request that you come back next week.

“So the November 24 deadline doesn't affect you but it will in future,” he said.

Earlier, Newzroom Afrika reported the death of a person outside Eskom offices  in Orlando East.

“We just saw him falling down and thought he fainted, but he died on the spot. This happened at about 4am. We then waited for the ambulance to arrive, but the anxiety affected the elderly,” an eyewitness told the TV station.

Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena confirmed the incident.

“Eskom has noted with deep sadness the passing of a customer at one of its customer service pop-up offices in Orlando East, Gauteng, on Thursday morning. These pop-up offices were established to manage the recent high volumes of customers needing assistance with the KRN rollover project.

“Eskom would like to offer its sincere condolences to the family of the deceased,” she said.

To check whether your meter has been recoded or upgraded to KRN2 or is still on the old KRN1, enter the code 1844 6744 0738 4377 2416 on your prepaid meter’s keypad. The screen will display the number 1 or 2, and in some cases there may also be alphabetic letters alongside the KRN number.

Number 1 means your meter is on KRN1 and needs to be recoded or upgraded to KRN2.

Get your two key change tokens from your local or online vendor when Eskom prompts you that your area is active and follow these steps:

• Key in the first 20 digits of your recode token and wait for it to be accepted.
• Key in the second 20 digits of your recode token and wait for it to be accepted.
• Key in the digits of your purchased token to recharge your meter. 

* This story has been updated to reflect Eskom's response.

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