Electricity & energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has committed the government to ending load reduction within months, setting a firm deadline of end-2026 and placing clear political accountability on delivery.
Addressing the National Assembly on Tuesday, Ramokgopa said the programme is now in a defined implementation phase, with measurable progress already recorded and remaining work scheduled. He said load reduction is not linked to generation shortages but is a localised response to distribution networks under severe strain, driven by illegal connections, meter tampering and vandalism.
At its peak, load reduction affected 971 feeders and about 1.69-million customers nationwide, cutting supply to households, clinics, schools and businesses despite adequate electricity generation.
Ramokgopa said the system is triggered when infrastructure is at risk of failure due to sustained overloading, resulting in transformer failures and widespread outages that affect entire communities, including paying users. He described this as a “profound injustice”, with compliant households effectively punished alongside those engaged in unlawful consumption.
The intervention comes as South Africa’s electricity system shifts out of a prolonged period of load-shedding, with the country recording about 280 consecutive days without power cuts since early 2026.
This reflects a sustained recovery in Eskom’s generation performance, with the energy availability factor stabilising at about 65% for the financial year to date and at times exceeding that level as plant reliability improved.
However, Ramokgopa said the constraint has now shifted from generation to distribution, with failing municipal networks, electricity theft and weak revenue collection emerging as the primary sources of instability at the point of delivery.
Municipal debt remains a central constraint. Eskom is owed more than R110bn by municipalities, with some failing to pay for electricity for extended periods, weakening the financial position of the distribution system and limiting maintenance and investment. This, with illegal connections and infrastructure damage, has increased pressure on local networks and contributed directly to load reduction.
Against this backdrop, the government has introduced a structured load reduction elimination programme with a fixed endpoint of end-2026.
In the current financial year, 271 feeders were targeted for removal from load reduction with more than 140 already restored by March.
The programme shifts away from blanket switching to targeted household-level interventions, including the expansion of free basic electricity to registered indigent households, accelerated rollout of smart meters and direct enforcement against unlawful consumption.
More than 380,000 smart meters have been installed nationally, including more than 190,000 in load reduction areas, enabling real-time monitoring, tamper detection and remote disconnection. The government said about 199,000 customers have already been removed from load reduction schedules through infrastructure upgrades, feeder stabilisation and smart metering interventions.
The programme also includes targeted network strengthening, with upgrades to transformers and feeders, and the introduction of distributed energy solutions in high-risk areas to reduce pressure on constrained networks.
Ramokgopa said progress is being supported by structured community engagements aimed at securing agreements to remove illegal connections, allow smart meter installations and stabilise local networks. These engagements are being rolled out across provinces as part of a co-ordinated national intervention.
He acknowledged that implementation has faced resistance in some areas, including intimidation of staff and disruptions to smart meter installations, as well as broader structural challenges linked to poverty, informality and organised electricity theft. He said the response must combine enforcement with social measures while restoring the rule of law in electricity management.
Ramokgopa also rejected criticism of the government’s broader electricity strategy. He dismissed claims that transmission constraints will prevent new generation capacity from being connected to the grid, arguing that current projections underestimate the pace at which grid expansion will accelerate as industry capacity and skills scale up. He rejected suggestions that South Africa risks losing climate financing, stating that any funding must be affordable and should not place additional cost burdens on consumers.
On Eskom’s future, Ramokgopa ruled out privatisation stating that electricity assets will remain under state control despite ongoing restructuring. He said decisions on the utility’s structure will be taken by President Cyril Ramaphosa after technical assessments, but emphasised that “we will not privatise Eskom”.
He warned that failure to resolve load reduction would continue to erode revenue, weaken the electricity distribution system and drive up costs for paying consumers. The programme, he said, is not aspirational but a defined intervention with clear milestones, measurable progress and full accountability, requiring co-ordination across all spheres of government and sustained co-operation from communities.
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