Online Reporter
Diana Nherera
PUBLIC street and tower lights in various municipalities such as Bulawayo and Chitungwiza are being converted to prepaid meters in line with the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) national programme to migrate all its customers, including businesses and institutions to the prepaid metering system.
In a statement, ZETDC stakeholder relations department said this is part of the power utility’s ongoing efforts to enhance service delivery, improve efficiency and ensure a sustainable supply of electricity for all Zimbabweans.
“This initiative aims to empower customers with greater control over their electricity consumption and improve revenue collection, critical for maintaining and upgrading our national grid,” read the statement.
Zetdc said it had consistently engaged with councils since last year.
“Furthermore, ZETDC issued written reminders in May 2025 advising them of the final phase of the prepaid meter installation project, which includes retrofitting pre-paid meters on all points with less than 100 amps,” it said.
“The councils were reminded that upon installation, meters would be pre-loaded with only 50 units for a single phase and 200 units for three-phase for immediate use before registration.”
It said that upon each installation of a prepaid meter, the relevant documents are handed over to the respective council official on site to facilitate processing for registration and subsequent token purchase.
ZETDC said disconnections were a direct result of the newly-installed prepaid meters requiring the purchase of electricity tokens by the local authorities responsible for the public lighting installations.
The power company said it was ensuring that all newly installed prepaid meters for public lighting are fully registered and activated.
It also said that it was working collaboratively with councils to assist them in swiftly purchasing tokens for the registered meters thereby enabling the immediate restoration of public lighting.
In addition, it said that it was sharing the schedule of installation on outstanding points prior to the installation to allow the council to plan in advance.
ZETDC urged municipalities to prioritise the necessary administrative and financial processes to acquire the tokens without delay.
“The swift action is crucial to alleviating the current public safety concerns,” read the statement.
