A 10 milliohm, 2512, plus or minus 1 percent, 2 watt brief for prepaid electricity meters in South Africa returns 4 Walsin Technology (Walsin) metal current-sense parts, none on our shelf. Across 18 parts at 2512 and 10 milliohm, 2 print the value as 0.01 and 16 as 0.010, so a text filter misses one group.
Venatech Limited, an authorised Walsin distributor in Hong Kong, wrote this from the Walsin chip resistor exports (234,401 distinct part numbers, 1,188 of them metal current-sense) and our stock list as at 23 September 2026. It is for a design or sourcing engineer at a South African maker of prepaid or smart electricity meters who is crossing a low-ohm sense resistor. Every part number is real and every count is ours. The market statement names its source and the day we fetched it, 2 November 2026.
What did Business Day report about South Africa’s prepaid smart-meter installations, and why does a component buyer care?
It reported a large installation programme with a measurable gap. According to Business Day on 19 September 2026, Eskom had installed 513,022 prepaid smart meters as at 11 September against a target of 577,347, a shortfall of 64,325 meters, or about 88.9 percent of target.
Those are the newspaper’s figures, not ours. The conclusion we draw is ours: a programme counted in hundreds of thousands of units turns a sense-resistor choice into a volume decision, and the cheapest moment to fix a part number is before the reel is ordered. We have no relationship with Eskom or any South African utility, and we say nothing about what any maker buys.
Which Walsin metal current-sense parts meet a 10 milliohm 2512 brief, and what differs?
Eighteen, and they differ in power, TCR and spelling. We parsed all 1,188 metal current-sense rows in the Walsin chip resistor export and filtered for 2512 at 10 milliohm and plus or minus 1 percent: 18 part numbers, of which 8 are rated 2 W, 6 are rated 1 W and 4 are rated 3 W. Adding a limit of 50 ppm per degree Celsius for the temperature coefficient leaves 6 of the 18, and 4 of those 6 are 2 W.
The 4 that meet a 2 W, 50 ppm brief are WW25NR010FTL, WW25NR010FTLJ, WW25DR010FTL and WW25DR010FTLJ. The reader’s incumbent goes in the last column.
| Walsin part | Description | On shelf 23 Sep 2026 | Match / mismatch with the brief | Your incumbent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
WW25NR010FTL |
Metal Plate Power Low Ohm Current Sense, 2512, 10 milliohm, plus or minus 1%, 2 W, TCR 50 ppm or better | No | Match on size, value, tolerance, power and TCR | |
WW25DR010FTL |
Metal Foil Low Ohm Power Sensing, 2512, 10 milliohm, plus or minus 1%, 2 W, TCR 50 ppm or better; value printed 0.01 | No | Match on the electrical fields; mismatch in construction (foil, not plate) and in how the value is printed | |
WW25NR010FTLJ |
The same electrical fields in the Automotive-labelled plate series (J suffix) | No | Match on the fields; mismatch in series label; ask for the qualification report | |
WW25RR010FTL |
Metal Plate Power, 2512, 10 milliohm, plus or minus 1%, 2 W, TCR 75 ppm | No | Mismatch: TCR is 75 ppm, not 50 | |
WW25MR010FTL |
Metal Plate Power, 2512, 10 milliohm, plus or minus 1%, 1 W, TCR 50 ppm | No | Mismatch: rated power is 1 W | |
WW25AR010FTL |
Metal Plate Power, 2512, 10 milliohm, plus or minus 1%, 3 W, TCR 70 ppm | No | Mismatch: TCR is 70 ppm; rated power is higher |
A match in the table is a match on the export fields, no more. Confirm against both datasheets and qualify in your own circuit. Our post on low-ohm current sense, thick film against metal covers the construction choice, and how to cross-reference an MLCC shows the same field-by-field method on capacitors.
Why does a search for 0.010 ohm miss two of the eighteen?
Because Walsin spells one value two ways. Of the 66 distinct resistance values in the metal current-sense export, 9 are printed with two spellings, covering 255 of 1,188 rows; at 10 milliohm, 62 rows read 0.010 and 17 rows read 0.01. Both foil parts in our table, WW25DR010FTL and WW25DR010FTLJ, sit in the shorter spelling.
A BOM line or a spreadsheet filter on the three-decimal form therefore finds 16 of the 18 parts and silently drops the foil pair. A filter on the short form finds 2 of the 18. We have not seen this counted anywhere. Paste a list into the cross-reference tool instead and compare the fields, not the text.
What does the Hong Kong shelf hold in metal current-sense resistors?
Nothing, and we say so. None of the 1,188 metal current-sense part numbers is on our stock list as at 23 September 2026, so every part in the table above would be a to-order enquiry, not an ex-stock line.
The shelf does carry thick-film low-ohm lines in other sizes, listed on the ready stock list, which is a dated snapshot and never live-synced. A thick-film part is a different construction, so treat it as a different design decision and not as a substitute. The chip resistor range shows the families.
What will we not tell you about prepaid meters?
Anything about your metrology class, your shunt design or any approval. Of the 28 Walsin datasheets we hold, 2 cover chip resistors, and neither covers a metal current-sense series, so every count here is catalogue coverage from the export, not a datasheet claim.
We make no claim that any part suits a prepaid meter or meets any metering standard. We hold no ISO 9001 or IATF 16949 certificate. We hold no office, entity or stock in South Africa; our locations are Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Singapore and Jiangmen, with Chengdu in preparation. We give no legal, customs or conformity advice; confirm with your compliance team. Qualification stays with you.
Why do buyers in South Africa choose Venatech?
Because we show the mismatches, and we can prove the range. Venatech Limited is an authorised Walsin Technology distributor in Hong Kong, and the Walsin metal current-sense range alone is 1,188 part numbers in 5 series across 9 case sizes, from 0402 to 2512.
A South African buyer gets a Hong Kong team that welcomes small lots, answers cross-reference questions in plain fields, and tells you where a candidate differs before you commit. Our VenaMatch tool decodes 18 manufacturers’ part numbers and covers 800,000+ crossable parts, and every candidate comes back with each field marked match or mismatch. That honesty is the point. Buyers who qualify parts for a living prefer a supplier who writes down the 75 ppm TCR before the board is built.
How can Venatech help a South African meter maker?
How Venatech helps starts with a free paste box. The cross-reference tool accepts up to 500 part numbers or an Excel or CSV file and shows Walsin candidates with each field marked match or mismatch. Load a whole BOM for a check. The ready-stock list is a Hong Kong snapshot dated 23 September 2026.
Worked example from our own export: the 10 milliohm 2512 brief returned 18 parts, 4 meeting 2 W and 50 ppm, 2 spelled differently, none stocked. Walsin is the only line we are authorised for; Stackpole and Viking are lines we supply. We serve from Hong Kong in small lots, we help cross-reference, and you request a quote through the site. We hold 28 Walsin datasheets, 451 pages, and send them on request.
The short version
For a South African prepaid-meter maker, a 10 milliohm 2512 brief hides three splits: 1 W, 2 W and 3 W; 50, 70, 75 and 100 ppm; and two spellings of the value. The brief gives 18 parts, 4 meet 2 W and 50 ppm, and none is on the shelf. Read the fields, not the text.
Send us one current-sense line from your BOM, with the power and TCR you can accept, and we will return the Walsin parts with every difference stated. If your incumbent’s datasheet prints 0.01, do your filters find the 0.010 parts too?
Sources
Fetched 2 November 2026.
- Business Day, “Eskom removes 1.2m from load reduction but Gauteng is slow”, 19 September 2026: https://www.businessday.co.za/business-times/2026-09-19-eskom-removes-12m-from-load-reduction-but-gauteng-is-slow/
Frequently asked questions
How many prepaid smart meters had Eskom installed by 11 September 2026?
According to Business Day on 19 September 2026, 513,022 against a target of 577,347, a shortfall of 64,325 or about 88.9 percent of target. These are the newspaper’s figures, not ours, and we read only the headline and summary.
How many Walsin metal current-sense parts meet a 10 milliohm 2512 plus or minus 1 percent brief?
18 distinct part numbers in the export: 8 rated 2 W, 6 rated 1 W and 4 rated 3 W. Adding a 50 ppm per degree Celsius limit leaves 6, and 4 of those are 2 W. Confirm each against its datasheet before design-in.
Why do two of the 18 parts print the value as 0.01?
The two Metal Foil parts, WW25DR010FTL and WW25DR010FTLJ, print 0.01 while the other 16 print 0.010. Across the export, 9 of 66 resistance values carry two spellings, covering 255 of 1,188 rows. A text filter misses one group.
Is any Walsin metal current-sense part on the Hong Kong shelf?
No. None of the 1,188 metal current-sense part numbers is on our stock list as at 23 September 2026. The snapshot is dated, not live, so ask us about a to-order enquiry through the site.
Does the J suffix mean a part is AEC-Q200 certified?
No. The export labels the series Automotive, and Walsin’s own wording is compliant or qualified to, never certified. Venatech makes no qualification claim; ask for the qualification report for the exact part number.
Do you hold stock or an office in South Africa?
No. We hold no office, entity or stock in South Africa; our locations are Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Singapore and Jiangmen. We hold no ISO 9001 or IATF 16949 certificate and give no legal, customs or conformity advice. Confirm with your compliance team.