Eskom announced in a statement on Monday that they have reached a milestone where over 1 million customers have been removed from load reduction.
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Eskom said it has removed over one million customers from load reduction, but there are still areas in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal where it is being applied.
Eskom announced in a statement that this was part of the Load Reduction Eradication Programme. “Five of South Africa's nine provinces are now free from load reduction. To date, 1 104 225 customers have been removed from load reduction schedules, representing 65.17% performance towards the programme's load reduction eradication target.”
Load reduction was introduced as a temporary network protection measure in areas affected by infrastructure overloading, illegal connections, electricity theft, meter tampering and demand growth that exceeded the design capacity of local networks. South Africa's power system has gone more than 413 consecutive days without loadshedding, significant improvements in generation performance, operational reliability and the reduction of unplanned outages.
“Originally implemented to address overloaded local networks and protect electricity infrastructure, the programme has removed 545 feeders from load reduction nationally, with the remaining load reduction areas concentrated largely in Gauteng followed by KwaZulu-Natal,” added Eskom.
Eskom said that this follows the elimination of load reduction in Mpumalanga, joining the Western Cape, Northern Cape, Free State, and North West as provinces that are now free from load reduction. “This progress keeps Eskom on track to eliminate load reduction in seven provinces by October 2026, with national eradication targeted by March 2027.”
Eskom said the milestone reflects its strategy to pursue operational and financial sustainability by reducing energy losses and modernising the power system through targeted investment in strengthening distribution infrastructure.
“It also supports improved reliability and customer experience, while delivering tangible benefits to households, schools, clinics, businesses and communities through a more resilient and secure electricity network.”
Eskom said it was addressing the underlying causes of load reduction through targeted investment in network infrastructure, the deployment of smart meters, the integration of Distributed Energy Resources, the expansion of Free Basic Electricity support, revenue protection initiatives, and collaboration with municipalities and communities.
“These interventions are reducing network overloading, protecting electricity infrastructure from damage, improving supply reliability, and reducing reliance on load reduction as a network management tool, as Eskom works towards its goal of eliminating load reduction nationally by 2027.”
Junaid Munshi, Eskom Group Executive for Distribution, said: “While significant progress has been made in improving generation performance and sustaining power system stability, we recognise that some communities continue to experience the impact of load reduction. Reaching the milestone of more than one million customers removed from load reduction demonstrates that the programme is delivering tangible results.”
Munshi said 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 network overloading.
Ruse Moleshe, managing director of RUBK, an energy and infrastructure consulting and advisory firm, said being load reduction free is an important because it means communities no longer experience scheduled electricity supply interruptions.
“Load reduction affects all customers in an area, regardless of whether they are paying customers or not. Eliminating it improves the reliability of supply to households, schools, clinics, small businesses and other community facilities within Eskom’s distribution network.”
Moleshe added that the achievement also reflects progress in addressing the underlying causes of load reduction, including illegal connections, electricity theft, meter tampering, ageing infrastructure, and inadequate network capacity.
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