Eskom starts prepaid electricity meter update 10 years after finding out they will go dark in 2024

Eskom recently announced that it will be starting a national rollout to update the 6.6-million prepaid electricity meters under its control before they become non-operational on 24 November 2024. The utility has known about the issue for more than 10 years, according to Don Taylor, the inventor of the first prepaid electricity meter, who is heading up the rollover project for the Standard Transfer Specification Association. So far, the power utility has updated a total of 5 800 meters in a pilot project in Gauteng. This means that Eskom is currently 0.087% of the way through its project. Eskom will have to roll over an average of 12 800 meters per day until 24 November 2024 if the utility is to complete the project in time. There are around 10-million prepaid electricity meters in South Africa, although there are potentially more than this. Municipalities are responsible for updating the rest of the meters in South Africa. Their progress can be tracked on a dashboard created by the South African Local Government Association.