Customers affected by load reduction face tamper fines, with 70% required to commit to paying R500 monthly for 12 months or a lump sum of R6 000.
South Africa could take up to 18 months to completely eliminate load reduction, depending on community cooperation and infrastructure challenges, says Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa.
The minister held a media briefing to outline comprehensive interventions aimed at ending load reduction, which affects 1.69 million customers or approximately 8.5 million people across the country.
He acknowledged that load reduction primarily impacts poor communities during morning and afternoon peak periods.
“Today, I’m announcing that we are ending load reduction. The period we have set ourselves is anything between 12 and 18 months, but it can be exceptionally shorter than that,” Ramokgopa said.
The 18-month period is a function of how we are received by communities. If there is absolute cooperation by communities, we’ll end it in the next 12 months.”
Community cooperation critical to load reduction end timeline
The timeline depends heavily on community reception of the interventions.
Areas experiencing resistance may push the implementation to the entire 18-month period.
Ramokgopa acknowledged the varying challenges across different areas.
“There are parts of the country where we are confident that we’ll get that cooperation [and] there are parts of the country where we know it’s going to be difficult,” he said.
The minister said that load reduction creates an appearance of discrimination based on income levels.
He said when mapping its prevalence across the country, the concentration is predominantly in poor areas, giving the impression of penalising those who cannot afford electricity, while affluent areas remain unaffected.
ALSO READ: Nersa admits R54 billion error first identified in January but never rectified
Smart meter rollout central to solution
The government plans a comprehensive smart meter rollout across the country as part of the solution.
Collin Redi from Eskom confirmed they already have experience with smart meter installations and technical specifications for nationwide deployment.
“We have already rolled out smart meters. The ministry indicated that we will be rolling out the smart meters throughout the country. So there is going to be no need in terms of running out a pilot project for the smart meters,” Redi said.
Smart meters will enable direct targeting of consumers for free basic electricity distribution, bypassing municipal inefficiencies.
The technology allows monthly preloading of unique meter numbers, eliminating the need for municipal intermediaries.
Illegal connections and regularisation
Addressing illegal connections forms a crucial component of the intervention plan.
The minister highlighted that some delinquent Eskom and municipal employees profit from illegal connections, creating resistance to formalisation efforts.
“We know that there are those who are profiting from these illegal connections. Some of them are delinquent employees of Eskom and municipalities who are illegally connecting people. We know they are going to agitate to resist our presence there because we are taking an illegally earned income that they have accumulated over time,” Ramokgopa said.
Free basic electricity distribution challenges
Despite 2.1 million customers qualifying for free basic electricity, only 483 000 currently receive it.
Municipalities often lack robust indigent registers and redirect allocated funds to other expenses, such as salaries, instead of providing the intended electricity subsidies.
Ramokgopa explained the discrepancy: “What municipalities do? They redirect that money to do other things, salaries and the like.”
He said the smart meter system will eliminate this problem by enabling direct consumer targeting without municipal involvement.
At the beginning of each month, the system will preload eligible meters with their allocation.
ALSO READ: Eskom hammers more nails into lord of darkness coffin with new milestone
Tamper fines and payment arrangements
Customers affected by load reduction face tamper fines, with 70% required to commit to paying R500 monthly for 12 months or a lump sum of R6 000.
However, exemptions exist for areas where poverty levels make payment impossible.
Eskom’s Agnes Mlambo clarified that normal credit management processes will apply to outstanding debts while addressing each household’s specific circumstances.
The approach recognises the mix of customers, including those who can afford payments but choose not to pay and those genuinely unable to afford electricity.
Municipal cooperation essential
The intervention requires close cooperation with municipalities, particularly regarding distribution agency agreements currently before the Cabinet.
The minister expressed confidence in Cabinet approval for supporting municipalities in electricity provision value chains.
Community engagement will follow established protocols using ward counselors and committees rather than creating new institutional structures.
“We don’t have the capacity that is required for us to be omnipresent across the length and breadth of all of those. What we have is the arsenal of what councillors and what committees are going to help us to land in those areas,” Ramokgopa said.
ALSO READ: Eskom assures public Koeberg Nuclear Power Station safe amid concerns
Electricity pricing policy review
Beyond load reduction, the minister committed to addressing electricity costs through a comprehensive review of pricing policies.
He said that electricity costs increased by 937% between 2007 and 2024, compared to 155% inflation over the same period.
“This dramatic increase erodes household disposable income across all income levels, though it disproportionately affects the poor,” said Ramokgopa.
He said the pricing policy framework will be opened for public engagement and consultation.
“We have committed initially that we want to conclude the issue of the cost of electricity, the electricity pricing policy by the first quarter of next year,” Ramokgopa said.
READ NEXT: Load reduction still persists: Here are the Gauteng areas affected
