Minister of Electricity and Energy Ramokgopa sets deadline to end 'discriminatory' load reduction. Image: Times Live.
(The Post News)-Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has promised to end load reduction within 12 months, saving mostly affected poor communities from darkness.
Minister Ramokgopa announced on Thursday, 25 September 2025, in a media briefing that there are interventions aimed at eliminating load reduction that affect 1.69 million customers. “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,” he said.
According to the minister, the timeline depends on the communities’ reception of the interventions. 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.”
Ramokgopa Vows Eskom Will Work Swiftly to Meet Deadline
He added that Eskom will work around the clock to meet the deadline, as he was concerned that the nature of the current bouts of load reduction had elements of discrimination. He confirms that load reduction affects poor communities in the early hours of the morning and afternoon peak periods.
“What is more worrying about load reduction is that it’s got an appearance of discrimination on an income basis,” he said. Ramokgopa added that the country is facing 771 transformer failures, many of them linked to illegal electricity connections. He said to end illegal connections, they are going to informal settlements to roll out smart meters, ensuring that each and every household has access to electricity that is connected legally.
He claimed that a portion of the resistance he was alluding to, his department is aware that there are individuals who are profiting from these unlawful connections. According to the minister, some Eskom and municipal employees are unlawfully connecting for these individuals, and they are aware that they will incite the communities to oppose them. He further alleged that this is due to the fact that they are taking an illegal income that they have accumulated over time, which is detrimental to the consumers in the area.
“There are issues of vandalism, and we will be making efforts to refurbish and maintain the distribution and reticulation infrastructure as part of our response. We will be rolling it out ourselves to ensure that we are able to address this situation,” Ramokgopa said.
Eskom Confirms Smart Meter Installations
Eskom spokesperson Collin Redi has confirmed the commencement of the 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.
Redi highlighted that smart meters will allow direct preloading of unique meter numbers, eliminating the need for municipal intermediaries.
About the Author
