The South African government says it will move aggressively over the next 12 to 18 months to eliminate load reduction by rolling out smart meters, tackling illegal electricity connections and upgrading failing infrastructure.
Load reduction refers to the targeted interruption of electricity supply in areas where local networks become overloaded, particularly during peak demand. Government says the measure is used to protect critical infrastructure in communities with high energy losses or extensive illegal connections that place severe strain on distribution networks.
Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said 1.69 million customers are currently affected by load reduction — translating to roughly 8.5 million people when accounting for household size. The problem is concentrated in Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal.
Speaking during a briefing in Pretoria, Ramokgopa said government would now focus on “addressing the multiple manifestations of the electricity deficit” in communities across the country.
“We are ending load reduction in the country. This can be achieved anywhere between 12 to 18 months,” he said.
With the country having significantly stabilised the national grid and reduced load shedding, the Minister said the focus has now shifted to ending load reduction altogether.
One of the central interventions will be the rollout of smart meters.
“Smart meters will enable us to isolate customers who are able to pay but choose not to, without penalising everyone connected to the same transformer,” Ramokgopa said. “It gives us technical agility to isolate non-paying consumers.”
The Minister also raised concerns about the under-delivery of free basic electricity (FBE). Of the 2.1 million Eskom customers who qualify, only 485 000 currently receive it, despite National Treasury transferring money to municipalities to support indigent households.
Smart meters, he said, will allow government to frontload free basic electricity to households that qualify, but this will require municipalities to maintain “robust indigent registers” to ensure proper targeting.
The Department of Electricity and Energy will also review the Free Basic Electricity Framework, which currently provides 50 kWh per month for indigent households. Ramokgopa noted that the average low-income household consumes about 200 kWh per month.
“If we speak about 100% subsidisation of the poor, then the 50 kWh allocation should shift to 200 kWh,” he said.
“We are going to change the framework without relying on the fiscal envelope, so we don’t have to approach the Minister of Finance for more funds.”
While the interventions are expected to improve supply reliability, Ramokgopa warned that government anticipates pushback from individuals and groups benefiting from illegal connections.
“We know some people profit from illegal electricity connections, including delinquent employees of Eskom and municipalities. We expect them to agitate communities to resist our presence because we are removing income they have accumulated at the detriment of consumers.”
