ANCWL urges Eskom to extend electricity meter upgrade deadline
Many have called for Eskom to extend the deadline, but Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said an extension was not possible due to technical reasons.
A Johannesburg City Power smart meter. Picture: File
JOHANNESBURG -The African National Congress (ANC) Women’s League is urging Eskom to extend the deadline for prepaid customers to upgrade their electricity meters.
Prepaid customers have until the end of Sunday to complete the upgrade, while the deadline for zero buyers has already been extended.
Zero buyers are customers with active meters but have not been purchasing electricity - due to illegal connections or access to an alternative power source.
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As of Saturday night, Eskom reported over 5.2 million customers had successfully upgraded their meters.
Thousands of people have spent the past few days standing in long queues at their nearest Eskom offices, hoping to upgrade their electricity meters and avoid hefty penalty fees.
Many have called for Eskom to extend the deadline, but Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said an extension was not possible due to technical reasons.
However, the ANC Women’s League argues that customers were not given enough time to upgrade their meters, despite Eskom's claims of launching an awareness campaign months ago.
The league contends that many of Eskom's customers lack internet access, meaning millions were unaware of the deadline to upgrade their meters.
The women’s league believes Eskom should find a way to grant residents more time to complete the upgrade.