More than 700,000 households across South Africa have been removed from Eskom’s load reduction programme as the power utility continues its efforts to eliminate the practice entirely by 2027.
Eskom announced that 714,513 customers are no longer affected by load reduction, representing more than 42% of the households targeted under the programme. The utility has already achieved full elimination of load reduction in the Western Cape and Northern Cape.
The programme currently targets 971 electricity feeders and is expected to benefit approximately 1.69 million customers nationwide, out of Eskom’s total customer base of 7.2 million.
According to Eskom, the initiative includes the rollout of smart meters, the integration of Distributed Energy Resources, and the expansion of Free Basic Electricity (FBE) support. These measures are being supported by customer education campaigns aimed at encouraging responsible energy consumption.
Since the programme began, Eskom has installed around 1.6 million smart meters across the country. Of these, 295,462 have been deployed on feeders affected by load reduction, accounting for approximately 18% of installations in high-priority areas.
“The rollout is deliberately focused on high-loss areas affected by illegal connections, meter bypassing, overloaded infrastructure and widespread electricity theft,” Eskom said.
Despite progress, the utility acknowledged challenges in implementing the smart meter programme. Installation teams have faced resistance in some communities, including intimidation, violent incidents and repeated work stoppages.
Eskom said extensive engagement efforts involving ward councillors, public meetings, radio platforms and social media have been undertaken to support the programme. However, ongoing disruptions have resulted in more than 122,000 planned meter conversions being delayed.
The utility warned that these delays have impacted the pace of implementation and created safety risks for employees and contractors working in affected areas.
The utility reported that its year-to-date Energy Availability Factor (EAF) has improved to 63.05%, compared with 57.67% during the same period last year. Eskom said the improvement reflects sustained progress in its turnaround strategy, supported by reduced unplanned outages and more reliable power station performance.
To further strengthen electricity supply, Eskom said it would bring an additional 3,903MW of generation capacity online ahead of the evening peak period.
No tags for this post.
