SOWETAN SAYS | Eskom has a hand in meter rush

The Sunday deadline for upgrading the Eskom prepaid meters’ coding is looming, and the power utility has reiterated that there’ll will be no extension. This position comes as in the face of thousands of residents are camping out at Eskom offices and community centres trying to get help.

And by Eskom the electricity company’s own admission, these desperate people numbered over 2-million by Wednesday this week, which means multitudes are likely to be out in the cold by the deadline hour.

So far, Eskom’s attitude over the whole picture is more of irritation more than concern to reverse the tide. The utilitycompany is satisfied it did all that was required of it to communicate about the need for the meters to be upgraded. The process began in August last year.

Anecdotal evidence on the ground, however, suggests hows Eskom’s effort did not satisfy the need for communication to adequately reach its intended audience, and remain active in the community of its clients. For example, Eskom should have noted the slow trend in upgrading efforts as far back as the winter months, and promptly put its communication channels in motion to anticipate a flood of late conversions by those seeking to beat the deadline send reminders.

This should have been done through radio and TV adverts and posts on its social media platforms and on the pages of other relevant government departments and municipalities. Eskom, with the help of partner organisations such as City Power and municipalities, should have also engaged more including by home visits town halls and roadshows activations to enmakesure its message about the meters is received widely. We understand the reasons for the conversion of the power meters as because technology changes all the time, and upgrades to its workings are necessary. The process has also helped Eskom to deal with illegal activities around the power meters, through meter bypassing and other forms of tampering. Hopefully, the new technology being put into place will help eliminate such activities and afford Eskom the opportunity to run its business without hindrances. However, Eskom must also accept its role in the desperation seen in Soweto this week, more so by the elderly residents, to have their meters recoded. Yesterday, a 59-year-old Soweto resident died in the queue after arriving at the Orlando East Community Hall early in the morning, only to face the stark reality he was No 486 in the line.

This unfortunate incident should have been avoided.

SowetanLIVE