The Minister for Energy and Mineral Development, Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu, has cautioned Ugandans against conmen masquerading as Umeme employees during the upgrading of the Yaka meters and urged them to check on their Yaka meters upgrading status.

While addressing members of the press on November 26, 2024, at the Four Points Hotel by Sheraton in Kampala, Nankabirwa asked Ugandans who have not upgraded their Yaka meters to contact Umeme for the upgrade but also be cautious of conmen.

“I want to tell the general public that upgrading of the Umeme Yaka Meters is free of charge and no one should pay a cent,” she said.

The minister gave an update on how many Ugandans have updated their meters, confirming that over 95% of Ugandans have already upgraded and just a few are yet to.

“We have about 2.2 million customers, representing 95% for Umeme and UEDCL customers and 100% for Kalangala users. Over 17,122 have not yet upgraded, and this could be because some premises are not occupied, and others, the owners are out of the country or upcountry and couldn’t be accessed for upgrade, or some users could be having illegal connections,” Nankabirwa added.

She further noted that this upgrade is meant to last and be efficient till 2045, when another software upgrade will be required.

According to Julius Wandera, the Director of Corporate and Consumer Affairs at the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA), those whose meters were installed after May 2024 do not need an upgrade.

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He highlighted that as upgrades are being done, the public should be vigilant to recognize the Umeme staff that they are dealing with to avoid conmen.

“The Umeme staff that are doing an upgrade are all putting on Umeme overalls, with a valid identification card, and will come with a UMEME pickup or double cabin and not on foot, motorcycle, or any other means of transport,” Wandera said.

Wandera further gave clear guidelines on how to check if one’s meter is upgraded or not, saying that Conlog, Hexing, Chint, and Inhemeter meters all have unique codes or indicators to confirm whether the upgrade was successful.

How to check if Yaka Meter is upgraded:

For a Conlog meter: Press #005#, r1:t2 means not upgraded, r2:t2 or r2:t10 means upgraded.

For Hexing and Chint meters: Press 873 and press “Enter.” 01 means not upgraded; 02 means upgraded.

For Inhemeter meter: Press 873 and press “Enter.” If the meter displays 01-02, it means it’s not upgraded, and 02-02 means the meter is already upgraded.

Wandera asked clients whose meters are not upgraded to immediately call the Umeme customer care number, which is toll-free, and Umeme will send a technician to upgrade the Yaka meter.