Government and state-owned power utility Eskom are embarking on what they describe as an aggressive roll-out of infrastructure to end the “load reduction” of electricity within the next 12-18 months.
“We will end load reduction in 12 months if there is absolute cooperation by communities… [but] there are parts where will get resistance,” energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa told reporters at a media briefing on Thursday.
He said there would be “agitation” by those benefiting from illegal connections and vandalism.
A total of 1.69 million people on Eskom’s direct database alone are impacted by load reduction. The minister said he would update the figure once he had a breakdown from municipal power utilities like Johannesburg’s City Power.
Load reduction is a localised strategy used to decrease electricity demand in specific areas with overloaded networks and high consumption, often caused by illegal connections. It typically occurs in the mornings and evenings – periods of high demand that place strain on infrastructure.
Ramokgopa said central to the roll-out is ensuring that homes had smart meters. Eskom currently has 600 000 meters in supply.
Neither the minister nor Eskom’s acting group executive for distribution, Agnes Mlambo, would be drawn on how much the project would cost.
‘Internal investment process’
Mlambo told reporters that Eskom is undergoing an “internal investment process” that will then be followed by a tender process. In the meantime, it is replacing 6.2 million old meters.
She said the utility will use transversal contracts, which are centralised agreements managed by the treasury, if they meet the necessary requirements. Ramokgopa said that government is looking at how Eskom can be assisted without going to treasury for more money.
“We will find it from the Eskom balance sheet, dedicate the resources there. But there is also a cost of not doing this… Over R100-billion is owed to Eskom … [and] it is growing by R2-billion/month,” he said.
Cabinet is “rethinking” the Integrated National Electrification Programme, which aims to achieve universal electricity access for all households. Part of R4-billion it receives in funding annually will be redirected to Eskom.
Government is also reviewing the free basic electricity framework and adopting new technologies to distribute power that will avoid additional funding from the fiscus.
The law currently stipulates the indignant households qualify for 50kWh of free electricity per month. However, Ramokgopa said new studies have found that an average low-income household consumes 200kWh.
“We think there are technology advances that can help us to do it [like] microgrids, solar PV and battery, or a combination of both… We will come back to you on how we finance that,” he said.
Ramokgopa said that once the government has turned the corner on load reduction, the next priority will be looking at how to reduce the price of electricity. This will include launching two renewable energy pilot projects in Musina. “We are confident that the prices will be lower,” he said.
Eliminating load reduction in the Eastern Cape, Free State, Northern Cape, Western Cape and North West is expected to happen in the next eight to 12 months as the other provinces make up the bulk of the overloading on the distribution network. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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