The TID rollover project: What is it and why is it happening?

Three decades ago, the Eskom electrification programme set out to connect ten million South African households to the country’s electricity grid, through prepaid meters. The majority of the prepaid meters were installed by Eskom, while the rest were installed by local municipalities. Over the years, prepaid electricity grew into one of the country’s most purchased digital goods and services.

The original STS Association standard for transfering credit to prepaid meters entailed entering a 20-digit token into a meter to load the units of electricity bought by a customer. Encoded within each token was a unique TID, which was formulated using the number of minutes that have passed from a base date of 1 January 1993. The tokens are then stored in the meter to avoid re-use.

Having a base date placed a limitation on the date range within which tokens could be loaded on to meters. And now that the deadline of 24 November 2024 is around the corner, prepaid electricity meters are due to be recoded so they can continue accepting tokens. 

How the recoding project is happening

The process of recoding prepaid electricity meter software is fairly straightforward. It requires two unique update numbers, called key change tokens, to be entered into the meter in a specific order. Once this is done, the base date on the meter will be reset to 2014, extending the meter’s ability to accept tokens until the year 2045. 

Eskom and local municipalities are responsible for employing various strategies to help customers reset their meters. The approach will depend on whether customers receive electricity directly from Eskom or from their municipalities. There are two main ways the project will play out:

How you can continue to service your customers

The deadline is drawing nearer and, if your customers’ meters are not recoded, the vouchers that you sell in future might load incorrectly. This could reflect as your prepaid electricity service failing, resulting in unhappy customers.

To prevent this you need to ensure that your business is positioned to adapt. A trusted technology partner will play a significant role in helping you to navigate this change:

1. An established network to leverage

Technology partners, such as Electrum, deal with multiple participants in the prepaid electricity transaction process, including your business, aggregators, and service providers. Through existing professional networks, experienced technology partners can help to keep your prepaid electricity offering up to date. Make sure to communicate with them so that you may be informed of service impacts or future enhancements.

2. Reliable and flexible technology to put your mind at ease

The right VAS platform has the agility necessary to handle industry changes such as these. With robust technology, you can rest assured that everything you need is in place to ensure your business can keep operating as usual. Our partner providers are working to support all related requirements on their side, removing the risk of affecting you or your customers.

3. You can focus on your customer

The vouchers you sell to customers may contain key change tokens, but not all customers are aware of the transition currently taking place. You can improve the customer experience and limit confusion through clear customer messaging to help them through the recoding process so they can successfully redeem their prepaid electricity purchase.

Remember: It is imperative that consumers enter their key change tokens in a specific order 

You could help your customers by displaying the tokens in the correct order for entry, in addition to including the specialised messaging mentioned above. Here are examples of what to do and what not to do:

The approaching deadline is not a surprise to the prepaid electricity service providers, as it is based on decades-old calculations. Some aggregators are already on track with applying changes to align with the transition, while others are still in consultation and testing phases. Talk to your prepaid electricity provider to understand how they will be addressing this change and if there is anything you need to be aware of, or act on.

Banks and retailers with  Electrum’s Prepaid Electricity service have peace of mind, knowing that our flexible and robust software enables business to continue as usual. Contact us today to learn more about TID or how we can help you build a prosperous VAS portfolio.