After 104 consecutive days of suspended loadshedding, Eskom has announced in a media statement that the issue of network overloading which has resurfaced with the onset of winter is prevalent in Limpopo, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu Natal, and North West.

About 94 per cent of the total overloaded transformers are in these areas as a result of electricity theft and indiscriminate use of electricity leaving Eskom with no other option but to implement load reduction to protect its assets from repeated failures and explosions.

“Overloaded transformers as a result of electricity theft present a serious risk to human life, we only implement load reduction as a very last resort for the shortest periods possible after all other options have been exhausted,” said Monde Bala, Group Executive for Eskom Distribution.

“A transformer damaged by overloading can leave an area without power for up to six months, protecting Eskom’s assets is in the best interest of all South Africans,” concluded Bala.

Overloading of the transformers is recorded mainly during peak hours around 7:00 and 5:00 in the morning and 17:00 to 19:00 in the evening.

In areas where load reduction will be implemented, the relevant cluster or province will communicate with affected customers through the normal channels including SMS and Customer Connect newsletters.

There are currently around 2 111 transformers which are frequently overloaded across the country at risk of being damaged, with around 900 transformers awaiting replacement.

Key Points on Load Reduction:

• Load reduction is not loadshedding.

• Load reduction is implemented in areas identified as high-risk due to increased energy consumption.

• Implementation will occur during peak hours when demand is at the highest.

• Communication with our customers will be maintained.

• Efforts will be made to restore full power as quickly as possible once the risk decreases.

• Customers should not report faults during load reduction periods and should treat all installations as live and dangerous.

While Eskom aims to exclude paying customers from load reduction, the network’s configuration does not allow for dedicated supply lines to paying customers, making it impractical to service them separately.

To prevent load reduction and abrupt loss of supply, customers are urged to reduce their consumption, ensure that the electricity they consume is legally connected, paid for, and purchased from legal vendors, and to report illegal activities.

Customers are urged to report criminal activities such as illegal connections, theft and vandalism that can damage transformers, mini-substations and other electricity infrastructure to the Eskom Crime line on 0800 112 722.