A Soweto man who had been queuing at the Orlando East Communal Hall, Sports and Recreation Centre in a bid to upgrade his prepaid electricity meter ahead of the November 24 cut off, has died.
Residents told IOL News the man died outside the centre on Thursday morning, while waiting to be assisted along with over 500 others who were queuing to be assisted.
Queuing residents said they witnessed the man collapse to his death and said his body had been removed by authorities on Thursday morning.
Orlando residents said they had been queuing at the centre since 4am, with some claiming to have slept outside the centre to get service.
Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is expected in Soweto on Thursday afternoon.
“Eskom is not doing justice to the people. People had to be here from as early as 4am,” Soweto resident Kathleen Pinky Moditšwe said.
Moditšwe and other residents told IOL News they had witnessed the man die.
“We had one death this morning, of a male person who died while on the queue and waiting for Eskom officials to arrive,” Moditšwe said.
Ward 13 councillor Bongani Dlamini has confirmed the man’s death.
“One of our residents died while on the queue, with the hopes of being assisted by the officials. The officials were called to the scene and upon arrival they confirmed the man was dead,” he said.
The residents of Orlando have expressed concern about the slow pace of upgrades at the Orlando East Communal Hall, Sports and Recreation Centre, with some complaining, saying some people have been sleeping at the centre waiting for services.
As the deadline for upgrading of Eskom’s prepaid meters looms, residents of Orlando, in Soweto have expressed concern with the delays of upgrading their meters at the Orlando East Communal Hall, Sports and Recreation Centre.
Prepaid meters deadline
With just less than four days remaining until the deadline, Eskom urged all prepaid electricity customers to update their meters immediately to avoid an unexpected loss of electricity.
The power utility said that meters still using KRN1 (Key Revision Number 1) will no longer accept electricity tokens after Sunday.
“Customers with meters still on KRN1 have likely not purchased electricity for more than six months or might be using unauthorised tokens bought from criminal syndicates,” Monde Bala, Eskom’s group executive for Distribution said.
He explained that to prevent the meter from becoming inoperable, losing power, and incurring replacement costs, it is critical that all customers, including those who have not purchased electricity in the last six months or more, to buy electricity tokens from authorised vendors by November 24.
“This will provide them with two sets of 20-digit codes needed to recode and update their meters. We started our public awareness campaigns back in August 2023 and we continue to ask users to come forward so we can offer all the help we have available,” he added.
The power utility said South Africans who fail to recode their prepaid meters before the November 24 deadline may be forced to get a new meter that could cost them as much as R12,000.
Meanwhile, Orlando residents have slammed Ramokgopa for saying that the deadline would not be extended, despite the slow progress of upgrading meters.
“People are not getting any help. This place is dominated by elderly people, and disabled people who have no choice but to queue,” she said.
However, Ramokgopa has explained that the deadline cannot be extended as it was not in their control.
Another concerned resident, Julia Kgathatso Mahlatsi, 64, from Orlando West told IOL News that has been at the centre since 4am to upgrade her electricity prepaid meter.
“We have been here since 4am, and we don't see any progress and the deadline is approaching.”
Mahlatsi pleaded with the government to extend the deadline.
“We are asking them to extend the days, because we don’t have the R12,000 they would fine us. We are old and pensioners, and we are sick people,” she added with concern.
Councillor Dlamini said the process of upgrading meters has been progressing slowly as Eskom officials are assisting residents with limited batches.
“Eskom officials who are inside the premises are assisting the residents. They take 150 people to assist them, then afterwards they will take batch,” Dlamini said.
IOL News