Address by DR KGOSIENTSHO RAMOKGOPA MINISTER OF ELECTRICITY AND ENERGY | REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA Executive Member Statement: Load Reduction Programme 24 March 2026 | National Assembly
Allow me to draw the attention of this House and the nation at large to one of Pablo Neruda’s piercing dictums, drawn from his final work, The Book of Questions. The renowned Chilean poet asks, “In what language does rain fall over tormented cities?”
With this passage, Neruda reminds us that suffering is universal, but its burden is not equally borne.
Today, we speak of load reduction, a crisis that does not fall evenly across our nation, but instead settles most heavily on those at the margins, in our rural communities, in our townships and in our villages. It is easy to ignore what is not uniformly experienced. But as a democratic state, we cannot allow uneven suffering to become invisible suffering.
Madam Speaker,
Let us begin with clarity. Load reduction is not load shedding. It is not a generation problem. It is a localised network protection measure, implemented when distribution infrastructure is at risk of catastrophic failure due to sustained overloading.
This overloading is driven primarily by illegal connections, meter bypass, tampering and vandalism. The result is predictable, transformers fail, infrastructure is damaged, and entire communities, including those who comply, are left without electricity.
This is not only a technical issue. It is a political economy challenge. It reflects the intersection of inequality, informality, weak revenue collection, and the erosion of the authority of the state in managing a critical public resource.
At the height of this challenge, approximately 971 feeders, affecting about 1.69 million customers, were placed under load reduction.
This is a profound injustice. It means that those who comply are punished alongside those who do not. It means that schools, clinics and local businesses are disrupted, not because the country lacks electricity, but because the system at the point of delivery has become unstable.
In response, the Department of Electricity and Energy, working jointly with Eskom, has developed a structured Load Reduction Elimination Programme. This programme is funded, sequenced and under implementation, with a clear objective, to eliminate load reduction by the end of the 2026 calendar year.
This is not a distant end point. It is a phased programme with defined milestones.
In the current financial year, the target was to remove 271 feeders from load reduction. As at March 2026, over 140 feeders have already been restored. This reflects real progress, but also underscores the scale of the task ahead.
The programme is being implemented in phases, stabilising high risk feeders first, scaling interventions across provinces, and progressively eliminating load reduction, with full stabilisation by 2027.
At the heart of this programme is a fundamental shift in approach. We are moving from blunt, feeder level switching, to targeted, household level intervention.
The first pillar is the expansion of Free Basic Electricity and the proper registration of indigent households. There remains a significant gap between those who qualify and those who are registered. Closing this gap is essential to reducing illegal connections and stabilising demand.
The second pillar is the accelerated rollout of smart meters. This is a large-scale national programme, with a target to deploy smart meters across all load reduction feeders by 2027, and a broader rollout of over six million meters by 2029.
As of early March 2026, more than 380,000 smart meters have been installed nationally, with over 190,000 deployed in load reduction areas.
These meters enable real time visibility, detect tampering, and allow for remote disconnection and load limiting. They allow the state to act with precision, targeting unlawful consumption rather than switching off entire communities.
The third pillar is targeted network strengthening, upgrading transformers, reinforcing feeders, and restoring the integrity of infrastructure that has been degraded by sustained overloading.
The fourth pillar is the integration of distributed energy solutions in high risk areas, creating localised resilience and reducing pressure on constrained networks.
The fifth pillar is structured community engagement, which is now being scaled into a formal national programme.
This programme is already demonstrating tangible results on the ground. To date, approximately 199,000 customers have been removed from load reduction schedules through a combination of infrastructure upgrades, feeder stabilisation and smart metering interventions. Progress has been most pronounced in the Free State and Eastern Cape, particularly in inland areas such as QwaQwa, Botshabelo and Sterkspruit, while in Gauteng, interventions in communities including Soweto, Tembisa, Mamelodi and Soshanguve have begun to relieve pressure on high density networks. In Limpopo and Mpumalanga, areas such as Giyani, Malamulele, Bushbuckridge, Siyabuswa and KwaMhlanga are now experiencing improved reliability as a result of targeted interventions.
But equally important, Madam Speaker, is how these gains are being secured. The success of this programme is not being driven by technical interventions alone, but by a deliberate effort to rebuild a social compact around electricity. In provinces such as North West and Limpopo, engagements in communities including Sandfontein, Tzaneen, Nkowankowa, Botlokwa, Mosiane View, Rooigrond and Dihatshwane have resulted in practical agreements with communities to remove illegal connections, allow for the installation of smart meters, and support the normalisation of local networks.
In Mpumalanga, within the JS Moroka Local Municipality, engagements with communities across Thembisile, Vaalbank and surrounding villages have reinforced this partnership approach. In KwaZulu Natal, engagements in Msunduzi, including with students in Edendale, have highlighted the real human cost of load reduction and strengthened the case for urgent intervention. In several of these areas, load reduction has already been lifted following these engagements.
Every week, in provinces across the country, the Department and Eskom are convening structured community engagements. This is not a communication exercise. It is a governance intervention. It is about rebuilding trust, aligning stakeholders, and ensuring that communities understand that load reduction is not punitive, but protective, and that its elimination requires shared responsibility.
In the period ahead, this programme will intensify through a structured provincial rollout of engagements. I will lead a high-level engagement in KwaZulu Natal with the Premier and Mayors to align provincial and municipal leadership around a coordinated response to load reduction. This will be followed by targeted community visits in Diepkloof in Gauteng, Mahikeng in the North West, and Vereeniging, where interventions will focus on stabilising feeders, accelerating smart meter installations, and addressing non-technical losses. These engagements will extend further to Hammanskraal, Kagiso and Vosloorus, as well as Sandfontein Village and Mabodoka in the North West, forming part of a deliberate, sequenced effort to convert areas under load reduction into areas of sustained network stability.
The rollout of the Load Reduction Elimination Programme is not uniform across the country, and it is important that we are clear with this House about what this means in practice.
In provinces where the scale of the problem is relatively contained, namely the Eastern Cape, Free State, Northern Cape, Western Cape and parts of the North West, the interventions are already well advanced. In these areas, we expect load reduction to be largely resolved within the current financial year, with full elimination by around September 2026. These provinces are showing us that where the network is less constrained, and where interventions can move quickly, we are able to stabilise supply within a shorter timeframe.
However, Madam Speaker, the reality is that the bulk of the challenge lies elsewhere.
In Gauteng, KwaZulu Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga, the scale and complexity of load reduction is significantly greater. These provinces account for the majority of affected customers, and the underlying issues, ranging from network overloading to high levels of electricity theft and infrastructure stress, require a more sustained and phased response.
In these areas, we are already seeing progress, particularly as we move through the first phase of smart meter installations and feeder stabilisation, with meaningful reductions achieved by March 2026. But we must be honest, this will not be resolved in a single step. The programme continues into a second phase through to September 2026, where we drive further reductions, and then into a final phase, with full elimination targeted by March 2027.
So, Madam Speaker, the approach is deliberate. We are resolving what we can, where we can, as quickly as possible, while at the same time sustaining a deeper, more intensive programme in those provinces where the problem is most entrenched.
The end point is the same for the entire country, the complete eradication of load reduction. But the path to get there is necessarily uneven, because the reality on the ground is uneven.
We must be candid about the challenges.
The rollout of smart meters has faced resistance in certain areas, including intimidation of staff and disruption of installations. A significant number of planned installations have been delayed due to community related disruptions.
There are also structural challenges, poverty, informality, and the presence of organised criminal networks involved in electricity theft. This is why our response must be balanced. It must combine enforcement with inclusion. It must recognise the socio-economic realities of our people, while restoring the rule of law in the management of electricity.
The political economy implications are clear.
If we do not resolve load reduction, electricity theft will continue to erode revenue, weaken the financial position of the distribution business, and drive up the cost of electricity for those who pay.
But if we succeed, if we stabilise the network, improve revenue collection and reduce losses, we create the conditions to lower the cost of supply over time, improve reliability, and support inclusive economic growth. This is why this programme is not only about infrastructure. It is about fairness. It is about ensuring that the system works for all South Africans.
Let me be unequivocal. We will eradicate load reduction.
Not as an aspiration, but as a defined programme with clear milestones, measurable progress and full accountability. This will require coordination across all spheres of government, strengthened law enforcement, and above all, partnership with communities.
It will require that we rebuild a compact between the state and the citizen, where the state guarantees reliable and lawful access, and citizens uphold responsible and lawful consumption.
We would be remiss if we did not confront another pressure that continues to weigh heavily on South African households, the rising cost of electricity, and its direct impact on the cost of living.
We must also confront the growing pressure that electricity costs are placing on households, particularly the poor and vulnerable. For many South Africans, the challenge is no longer only access to electricity, but whether they can afford it.
The Ministry recognises that the current pricing framework must evolve to better balance affordability with the long-term sustainability of the sector.
To this end, the Department of Electricity and Energy has undertaken a review of the Energy Pricing Policy. The Minister will announce that the revised policy will be released for public consultation within the next 21 days.
This process will allow all stakeholders to engage on how we build a pricing framework that is fair, transparent, and responsive to the realities faced by South Africans.
Let me return, in closing, to the question posed by Pablo Neruda, “In what language does rain fall over tormented cities?”
We have spoken today in the language of policy, of infrastructure, of smart meters and feeders. These are necessary languages. They give us precision. They give us accountability.
But the rain that falls on our communities does not speak in policy terms. It falls in the language of lived experience. On our visit to Nkowankowa in Tzaneen, we met a young girl named Mmapula. She told us that she could not study at night because electricity in her area was inconsistent and often unavailable. Her aspirations were being constrained by something as basic as unreliable power. Following targeted interventions, including the installation of smart meters and the stabilisation of the feeder, electricity supply has improved. She is now able to study with dignity and consistency. That is the difference between exclusion and opportunity. It falls in the home where a child cannot study at night.
It falls in the clinic where medicines cannot be stored. It falls in the small business that cannot operate.
The question before us is whether that rain will continue to fall unevenly, or whether we will build a system where it falls with justice.
Our answer is clear. We will build a system where no community is collectively punished. Where the vulnerable are supported. Where the integrity of the grid reflects the integrity of our commitment to one another.
We have known darkness. We have endured it. We have begun to restore the light. Now we must ensure that it reaches every corner of this nation.
I thank you.
Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa MINISTER OF ELECTRICITY AND ENERGY REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA 24 March 2025