Final warning for people with prepaid electricity meters

Eskom has warned that its grace period for “zero buyers” to come forward and convert to paying customers ends on Friday, 13 December 2024.

The power utility has called on “zero buyers,” its euphemism for people who are likely consuming electricity illegally through a tampered or bypassed connection, to regularise their accounts by that date.

“Customers who visit Eskom centres by this date and settle any outstanding tamper fines will have their meters repaired or replaced, electricity supply restored, and accounts regularised without additional charges,” the power utility said.

“Eskom has been running its most recent campaigns over the last 18 months appealing to electricity users to come forward and do what is right by regularising accounts and buying electricity from legal vendors.”

“Eskom urges customers to act promptly to avoid penalties and service disruptions.”

The power utility still has roughly 1.7 million prepaid customers in its database suspected of illegally bypassing their meters or using tokens from illegal vendors.

The issue was picked up due to the Key Revision Number (KRN) rollover project.

Over two million meters on Eskom’s database were not updated by the 24 November 2024 deadline, at which point their meters would stop accepting electricity vouchers.

The most likely reason for this was that these meters had either been bypassed or customers were using illegal tokens from so-called “ghost” vendors.

The KRN rollover has resulted in 400,000 former electricity thieves availing themselves to Eskom to avoid being without electricity after the deadline.

As of 11 December 2024, 5.64 million Eskom prepaid customers had updated their meters and were paying customers. However, Eskom’s total prepaid database consists of 7.25 million meters.

Eskom warned that from 14 December 2024, it would intensify the auditing of meters and installations.

“This will include issuing tamper fines, potentially up to R12,000, and could involve criminal charges for repeated offences,” the power utility said.

“Eskom encourages customers to resolve their issues within the grace period to avoid these severe penalties and ensure their accounts are regularised.”

“This support is crucial for Eskom’s operational and financial sustainability and to contribute to South Africa’s economic growth.”

The power utility said it had already fined approximately 100,000 customers for tampering with their meters as a result of the KRN rollover process. 15,000 of these fines had already been paid.

Although Eskom said fines could go up to R12,000, spokesperson Daphne Mokwena previously said they were around R6,000.

That means that Eskom may have collected anywhere between R90 million to R180 million in fines for the tampered meters, out of an issued R600 million to R1.2 billion in fines.

Eskom also called on “zero buyers” who bought electricity tokens before the 24 November 2024 deadline for the KRN rollover but experienced issues loading them to visit Eskom centres by 13 December 2024 for assistance.

“Customers with lost, tampered, or bypassed meters are also urged to come forward so that their cases can be resolved,” Eskom said.

“Tamper fines will be assessed, and necessary meter updates or replacements will be scheduled.”

The utility added that customers who had already visited Eskom centres and received a reference number could complete their tamper fine payments online or at the bank without needing to return to the centre.

It said these customers would be provided with updates on the status of their case via SMS.

“Customers are reminded that Eskom centres do not accept cash payments and should not offer cash at any location,” the power utility said.

“Support is available through Eskom’s various communication channels, including Alfred the Chatbot, the Eskom Contact Centre’s IVR system, and WhatsApp.”

Eskom also encouraged eligible households to check their qualification for the Free Basic Electricity grant, which provides 50kWh of electricity per month.

“Customers should contact their local municipalities for more information,” Eskom said.