South Africa:Eskom Removes More Than 1 Million Customers From Load Reduction Programme

South Africa’s state-owned power utility, Eskom, says it has removed 1,104,225 customers from its load reduction programme, achieving 56.17% of its nationwide target to eliminate the measure.

The utility said five of South Africa’s nine provinces are now free from load reduction.

Load reduction was introduced to protect overloaded local electricity networks and infrastructure. Eskom said it has removed545 feeders from the programme nationwide, with the remaining affected areas concentrated mainly in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

The latest milestone follows the elimination of load reduction in Mpumalanga, which joins the Western Cape, Northern Cape, Free State, and North West as provinces no longer subject to the programme.

Eskom said it remains on track to eliminate load reduction in seven provinces by October 2026 and nationwide by March 2027.

The utility said the progress forms part of its strategy to improve operational and financial sustainability by reducing energy losses and modernising the electricity distribution network through targeted infrastructure investments.

Eskom noted that the improvements are expected to enhance the reliability of electricity supply for households, schools, healthcare facilities, businesses, and communities.

The utility stressed that load reduction differs from load shedding. While South Africa’s power system has remained stable for more than 413 consecutive days without load shedding, load reduction was introduced to protect local distribution networks from overloading caused by illegal connections, electricity theft, meter tampering, and electricity demand exceeding network capacity.

According to Eskom, ongoing investments in distribution infrastructure, the deployment of smart meters, the integration of distributed energy resources, revenue protection measures, and collaboration with municipalities and communities are helping address the underlying causes of load reduction.

“The elimination of load reduction forms part of Eskom’s broader commitment to transforming electricity service delivery across South Africa,” said Junaid Munshi, Eskom’s Group Executive for Distribution.

“Reaching the milestone of more than one million customers removed from load reduction demonstrates that the programme is delivering tangible results.

However, the work is not complete. The remaining areas, particularly in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, require sustained investment, continued infrastructure upgrades, the deployment of advanced technologies, and ongoing collaboration with communities and stakeholders to address the root causes of network overloading,” he said.

Eskom called on municipalities, government departments, traditional leaders, law enforcement agencies, and communities to work together to protect electricity infrastructure, prevent illegal connections, and ensure safe access for technical teams.

The utility said it remains committed to providing a safe, reliable, and sustainable electricity supply while ensuring that improvements in power system performance benefit all South Africans.