# Power plug & outlet Type M

![electricity - type M (plug)](https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MBlD-pGvqUEQDs9SdgH-1972196547%2Fuploads%2FrntLc14P1M1BtcZtlyUU%2Ffile.gif?alt=media)\
 Type M is used almost exclusively in South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho. (Click [here](https://docs.ifreeq.com/general-knowledge/electricity/plug-socket-and-voltage-by-country) for the full list of all countries that use type M)

![](https://2999784448-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MBlD-pGvqUEQDs9SdgH%2F-MBppruq8wKemPEqsfBl%2F-MBpq5vuGuMpoGfgveMM%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=4a90bccd-ab20-4dbd-809b-0cdec5b595de)

This plug resembles the Indian type D plug, but its pins are much larger. Type M is a 15 amp plug, and it has three round prongs that form a triangle. The central earth pin is 28.6 mm long and has a diameter of 8.7 mm. The 7.1 mm line and neutral pins are 18.6 mm long, on centres spaced 25.4 mm apart. The centre-to-centre distance between the grounding pin and the middle of the imaginary line connecting the two power pins is 28.6 mm. The South African version of the M plug often has insulated sleeves on the pins to prevent accidental contact with a bare connector while the plug is partially inserted.

![](https://2999784448-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MBlD-pGvqUEQDs9SdgH%2F-MBppruq8wKemPEqsfBl%2F-MBpq9awkqIlpgUVsrdM%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=221c96e5-acf2-4c40-ba8a-0a3990b4ba6d)

Although type D is used in India and Nepal, type M is also used for larger appliances in those countries. Some sockets over there can take both type M and type D plugs. Type M is also used in Israel and the United Arab Emirates for heavy appliances such as air-conditioning circuits (in cases where wall-mounted units are plugged in to a dedicated socket) and certain types of washing machines. In the UK, type M is still pretty much the standard plug for theatre installations, despite efforts to move to the international [blue- and red-coloured industrial CEE plugs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEC_60309).

Incidentally, in 2013, South Africa made the new type N plugs and sockets the preferred standard, which will gradually replace the type M plug and socket system. Since 2018, all new buildings in South Africa must incorporate at least one type N socket outlet. Erm, come again? Only one single receptacle of the *preferred* standard? This is mind-boggling! Why would a government deliberately opt for an excruciatingly slow adoption of a new, safer standard? No wonder the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) thinks the transition process will only be completed in 20 to 50 (!) years! This is utterly absurd…