President Cyril Ramaphosa says government will work in each province to address transformer overloading, illegal connections and equipment failure, with the aim of eradicating load reduction by next year.

He made the announcement during his 2026 State of the Nation Address on Thursday, February 12.

Load reduction continues to affect many communities, particularly in rural areas, during peak early-morning and late-evening periods when electricity is most needed.

At present in Mpumalanga, load reduction takes place for two hours daily – either from 05:00 to 07:00 or from 19:00 to 21:00.

“We are establishing a level playing field for competition so that we are never again exposed to the risk of relying on a single supplier to meet our energy needs. We are restructuring Eskom and establishing a fully independent state-owned transmission entity. This entity will own and control transmission assets and will be responsible for operating the electricity market,” he said.

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Ramaphosa has also established a dedicated task team under the National Energy Crisis Committee to address issues related to the restructuring process, including clear timeframes for phased implementation. The committee is expected to report back within three months.

In addition, he said government will commence the first round of independent transmission projects this year to enable private investment in expanding the national grid.