Eskom coming after prepaid customers with fines and criminal charges

Power utility Eskom says that Friday 13 December is the end of the grace period prepaid electricity users who have been flagged as ‘zero buyers’ – promising to ramp up enforcement against those with tampered meters or otherwise bypassing legitimate vending.

Following the widely publicised token rollover project, which passed its own deadline on 24 November, Eskom announced a grace period for prepaid users who had not yet updated their systems.

These users—called ‘zero buyers’ by the group—are those who have not been vending legitimate prepaid tokens or had otherwise been tampered with and are likely operating unlawfully.

Eskom said that any of these customers who visit Eskom centres by Friday, 13 December, and settle any outstanding tamper fines would have their meters repaired or replaced, electricity supply restored, and accounts regularised without additional charges.

However, starting on 14 December 2024, Eskom said 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. Eskom encourages customers to resolve their issues within the grace period to avoid these severe penalties and ensure their accounts are regularised,” it said.

The group noted that it has already issued over 100,000 tamper fines, and only 15,000 have been fully or partly settled.

“Zero buyers who purchased electricity tokens before the 24 November 2024 deadline but experienced issues loading them must 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. Tamper fines will be assessed, and necessary meter updates or replacements will be scheduled.”

Following the completion of the Key Revision Number (KRN) rollover project, Eskom has successfully transitioned 5.64 million prepaid customers, including 400,000 former zero buyers, to the updated KRN2 system.

The project, combined with a comprehensive data cleanup, has increased Eskom’s customer base from 6.91 million to 7.25 million.

Read: What happens if you miss Eskom’s new prepaid meter deadline