The officials have shared their opinions and they are pretty unanimous that the prepayment electricity billing will herald a significant change in the energy sector of South Africa.The change will not only take place but it will also be a part of the radical changes that are being planned to take place starting December 2025 and continuing thereafter. The reason for the change is the TID (Token Identifier) rollover, which is a global software application that allows the prepaid meters to be updated to operate even in the year 2025 and beyond. The change of the power supply and the invalidation of new electricity tokens are some of the issues for which the millions of households are advised to update the meters’ status to avoid.
TID Rollover Deadline: The Importance of It Now
All prepaid electricity meters in South Africa will be ciphered with a uniform encryption of 24 years and this will come to an end in November 2024, the complete transition being in 2025. The end of this cycle will imply that all the meters that have not been updated will no longer be able to accept electricity vouchers. By the end of the year 2025, municipalities and Eskom will have totally converted to the new token encryption standard, which means that:
- no old tokens anymore
- meters that have not been updated will be deactivated
- the households will need the software reset done urgently to get back their power
So, it is really important for the people of the locality to check the status of their meter before the transition deadline.
ways to identify if your prepaid meter is updated
The condition of the meters of S houses can be easily monitored by the households via various modes available from Eskom and local municipalities. If any of the following statements hold genuine, then it is very likely that you have already been notified:
- You have accurately input the two 20-digit reset codes
- The SMS notification from your municipality validated the TID update as done successfully
- Your meter was able to take in the tokens that were bought after the updating campaign had begun
For the status to be verified, Eskom’s customers can either contact the Eskom Customer Support Centre or use the MyEskom app, while municipality customers can seek assistance from the local electricity department.
What If Your Meter Is Not Updated?
In case your meter gets not updated before December 2025 switch-over:
- Any tokens that you purchase after that time may not be accepted by your meter
- Your meter may be disconnected and your premises will not be supplied with electricity anymore
- You will have to either request a technician’s visit or have the call center reset done
- In some areas, delayed updating may result in the imposition of extra service fee charges
It is not a good idea for S households to wait until the last minute; they should rather proceed with their updates so as to avoid the tedious and frustrating experience of long queues and delays that usually occurs during the deadline rush.
How the Update Works
The prepaid meter update process is simple and takes only a few minutes. Customers will receive two mandatory Key Change Tokens (KCT):
- First 20-digit code – clears old encryption
- Second 20-digit code – installs the new TID encryption
Once both tokens are entered correctly, the meter becomes compatible with the new national billing system and will continue working beyond December 2025.
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