Power utility Eskom has requested about 1.7 million zero buyers to upgrade their meters before 13 December, to avoid paying temper fines.Eskom said the rollover process has seen a decrease in the number of zero buyers with about 400 000 of them coming forward by buying a prepaid token before the first initial deadline of 24th Sunday. Moreover, 5.5 million customers including the 400 000 former zero buyers have been successfully rolled over to KRN 2.The entities Group Chief Executive for Distribution Monde Bala said they will continue to encourage customers to pay for electricity.“We will continue to treat these users with dignity and respect as we resolve these issues for all of those who did the right thing. We continue to monitor and stabilize the system to ensure a smooth experience. We acknowledge also that this was a complex process presenting a challenging set of issues and was at times fraught and we continue to monitor and stabilize the system to ensure a smooth customer experience,” said Bala.In addition, the utility Group Chief Executive Dan Morakane highlighted that the result of the technological changeover has benefited the company by bringing previous zero buyers to new paying customers.He added that this would help Eskom maintain its sustainability to drive the economic growth and reduce the burden on the taxpayer.