Food, Water & Energy Security
Anglo American-EDF joint venture lights up SA's electricity grid
18 Mar 2026
Smart meters change the game for 210,000 Eskom users
Eskom’s efforts to eliminate load reduction are gathering pace, with more than 210,000 customers no longer affected during peak periods. The power utility implements load reduction to protect infrastructure from overloading and destruction caused by illegal connections.
Image credit: Akashni Weimers on Pexels
As a result of the power utility's interventions, including smart meter rollout, some 158 electricity feeders have been removed from load reduction.
“Although the power system remains stable and generation capacity continues to exceed demand, illegal connections and meter tampering persist, causing infrastructure damage and posing serious safety risks.
“In response, Eskom continues to implement load reduction as a temporary measure in high-risk areas to protect both communities and the electricity network.
“With the feeders removed from load reduction to date, an estimated 210,453 customers are now benefiting.
"The remaining customers still due for load reduction removal by financial year end are 199,187 in both Limpopo and Mpumalanga, 95,560 in Gauteng, 14,714 in both Eastern and Western Cape, 26,078 in the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal, and 32,989 in the Northern Cape and North West provinces,” Eskom said recently.
Overall, some 366,894 customers are still to be removed by the end of the financial year.
Installing smart meters
Meanwhile, Eskom said more than half a million smart meters have been installed as part of its infrastructure upgrade.
Just under 200,000 of these areas were specifically targeted with load-reduction feeders.
“This 40% allocation to high-priority areas is essential for managing grid pressure while empowering our customers with real-time data and greater control over their energy usage.
“Of the 199,521 smart meters installed on load reduction feeders, approximately 90% are concentrated in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal, where network risk is highest,” Eskom explained.
With 577,347 smart meters installed, the electricity provider has reached 35% of the total end state target.
However, challenges remain in some communities.
“The rollout is deliberately focused on high-loss areas affected by illegal connections, meter bypassing, overloaded infrastructure and widespread electricity theft.
"Eskom has undertaken extensive community and stakeholder engagement through ward councillors, public meetings, radio platforms and social media to support the implementation of the programme.
“Despite these efforts, installation teams continue to face persistent resistance, including intimidation, violent incidents and repeated work stoppages.
"These disruptions have led to deployment delays, the redeployment of teams, and heightened safety risks for Eskom employees and contractors.
“As a result, approximately 122,000 planned meter conversions have been delayed to date, undermining the stability and predictability of the rollout programme,” the power utility noted.
The electricity provider called on communities to report any criminal activity on the electricity infrastructure.
“Eskom is harnessing technology, upgrading infrastructure, and partnering with communities to ensure a safer, smarter, and more reliable power network for South Africa.
“Eskom calls on communities to report illegal connections, use electricity responsibly, and protect infrastructure.
"Any illegal activity affecting Eskom’s infrastructure can be reported to the Eskom Crime Line at 0800 112 722 or via WhatsApp at 081 333 3323,” the power utility said.