Purchasing Prepaid Electricity

The following two links provide useful information supplementary to this page:

 

Purchase an STS Token On-Line

An STS Token is a 20-digit voucher that is entered directly into an STS prepaid electricity meter by typing the voucher number on the meter keypad. The STS token is purchased for the amount specified by the customer at the time of the sale. Hence, an STS token is a non-denominated voucher, as the customer can purchase a voucher for any value between the minimum and maximum values specified by the electricity supplier (Eskom or municipality).

 

You can purchase an STS token directly from Quantum Wallet by selecting any of the electricity purchase options (e.g. Eskom Electricity, Municipality Electricity, Tshwane Electricity) by logging in at https://www.quantumwallet.co.za.

 

Purchasing an STS token is an on-line process. This means that Quantum Wallet requests the token directly from the Eskom or municipality prepaid vending system on-line and in real-time. However, the token cannot be issued if the Eskom or municipality prepaid vending systems are down or off-line at the time of the purchase. Some municipalities' prepaid vending systems are more reliable than others. Hence, if your electricity purchase fails, this does not mean there is a problem with the Quantum Wallet system - this is almost always a problem with the Eskom or municipality prepaid electricity systems (click here to see common errors associated with electricity purchases).

 

Note that some municipalities, such as Ekurhuleni, also have non-STS meters (called smart meters) that are recharged automatically without an STS token using power-line communication (PLC). This means that the customer is not issued with a 20-digit voucher, but only a purchase success/fail response.

 

You can check whether Quantum Wallet can vend for your meter by choosing one of the Eskom, Tshwane or Other Municipality options in the menu and then clicking on Purchase. You will then be prompted to enter your meter number and click Check Meter, which will first issue a meter check before you enter the amount to actually purchase a token.

 

Check Meter

When you purchase an STS token directly from Quantum Wallet, you first enter the meter number. This issues a meter check request (also called the consumer check) to the Eskom or municipality prepaid vending system to verify the existence of the meter number. The name and address of the meter owner is usually returned as the response, provided that these details are correctly registered in the Eskom or municipality prepaid vending system database. You must verify that these details are correct (if they are provided) before continuing with the purchase. Quantum Wallet will not be liable if you purchase electricity for the wrong meter.

 

Most meter numbers are 11 digits in length, however there are exceptions for some proprietary meters which may have shorter meter numbers. If your prepaid electricity card (if you have one) shows an 11-digit number followed by a single digit separated by a space, only use the first 11 digits when purchasing electricity.

 

What if the purchase of my STS token fails?

On-line vending systems are complex. This means things can and do go wrong. Quantum Wallet relies on reliable communication between the point-of-sale and the Quantum Wallet system, and also between the Quantum Wallet system and the Eskom or municipality prepaid vending system. For example, it can happen that Quantum Wallet successfully purchases an STS token from the Eskom or municipality prepaid vending system, but fails to deliver the token to the customer due to network errors. In this particular case, the Quantum Wallet system will store the STS token for that meter, and offer this token at the next purchase for that meter. This means you must accept and purchase the previously undelivered token before being able to purchase another token.

 

In general, you should always try issue a Reprint request after a transaction has failed before trying to purchase a new voucher. A reprint function is available under each of the electricity purchase options.

 

What if my meter number is unknown to Quantum Wallet?

Quantum Wallet will only be able to issue STS tokens for valid Eskom and municipal meter numbers. Quantum Wallet provides several functions to purchase prepaid electricity:

  • Eskom Electricity: for all Eskom meters
  • Tshwane Electricity: for all City of Tshwane Meters
  • Municipality Electricity: for all other municipalities in this list.

You must make sure you choose the correct option for your meter. This means you must know whether your meter is an Eskom or municipal meter and then choose the appropriate purchase option.

 

Test whether you can purchase for your meter from Quantum Wallet:

 

Blind Purchase for Eskom meters

If you are sure your meter is an Eskom meter and you get an error "Try by other transaction" when using the Purchase function under Eskom Electricity, then this means your meter is not properly registered on the Eskom database. You can then try use the Blind Purchase function under Eskom Electricity. You will then be required to enter additional information about your prepaid electricity meter that should be provided either on your prepaid electricity card, or on the slip from a previous transaction. You can also contact the Eskom helpdesk at  08600 37566 for assistance.

 

Update Meter Key

If you receive the error "Update meter key" when trying to purchase a prepaid electricity, please select the Update Meter Details option to request new key change tokens for your prepaid meter. There is no cost for these tokens, and they do not contain any electricity value. You will be required to enter these tokens into your meter before being able to purchase a normal prepaid token to recharge your meter.

 

Inclining Block Tariffs (IBT)

Inclining Block Tariffs (IBTs) apply from 1 Apr 2011 for Eskom (Eskom contact centre: 086 003 7566) and 1 July 2011 for some municipalities (e.g. Ekurhuleni, Tshwane). This means you pay more for electricity the more you purchase during a month. It does not make a difference when you purchase additional tokens during the month, but rather how much you purchase, i.e. the more electricity you purchase, the more it costs you per kWh. This means that, for example, your second token purchased during a month may credit your meter with fewer kWhs than the first token purchased during the month.

 

Please contact Eskom or your municipality if you have any questions regarding prepaid electricity tariffs.