The prospect of Eskom meeting its March 2026 or March 2027 smart meter roll-out targets looks increasingly unlikely.

The utility has only installed and uploaded 75 736 smart meters on feeders affected by load reduction of its target of 577 347 for March 2026, amounting to just 13.1% of the total.

The smart meters are meant to help put an end to load reduction, which is a targeted, localised power cut implemented by Eskom and local utilities like City Power in Johannesburg.

The strategy manages demand in specific high-usage areas to prevent network equipment damage where consumption surges beyond what local infrastructure can handle, often due to increased illegal connections or theft.

According to an update from Eskom, more than 90% of the installations are in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal.

Through a phased programme, Eskom aims to eliminate load reduction by March next year by targeting 971 feeders that will benefit 1.69 million users through interventions such as smart meters, distributed energy resources and expanded free basic electricity. Some 106 471 customers are no longer affected during peak periods.

“Illegal connections and meter tampering continue to damage infrastructure and pose serious safety risks. As a temporary measure, Eskom is maintaining load reduction in high-risk areas to protect communities and the network,” the utility said in a statement on Friday.

Feeders

Eskom aims to roll out 7.2 million smart meters by 2029.

The total number of feeders removed from load reduction has increased to 83. It includes 13 feeders in Limpopo and Mpumalanga (35% of the target of 37), 37 in Gauteng (29% of the target of 126), and seven in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape (47% of the target of 15). Nationally, the 83 feeders removed represent about 31% of the target of 271 feeders to be removed from load reduction by March 2026.

With the removal of the additional feeders the breakdown of customers benefiting are: