馃嚳馃嚘South AfricaSouthern Africa
Gauteng residents still face daily load reduction despite national power stability
via The Citizen4 min read
South Africa has achieved 392 consecutive days without load shedding, a significant improvement in the national power system. However, many Gauteng residents continue to experience daily power cuts due to load reduction, which is distinct from load shedding. Load reduction is a localized measure applied to specific feeders to prevent equipment failure and safety hazards caused by illegal connections, meter tampering, and infrastructure overloading. Eskom stated on June 12 that its load reduction elimination program is progressing, with approximately 43% of affected households 726,324 already restored to normal supply across all provinces. The remaining 57% are concentrated in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. While the Northern Cape and Western Cape have fully eliminated load reduction, progress in Gauteng is slower, with only 39% of its target feeders cleared. Eskom anticipates full elimination in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal by 2027, with other provinces targeted for October 2026. The national grid shows improved stability, with average unplanned outages decreasing to 10,143MW between June 5 and 11, 2026, and a comfortable buffer of available capacity above projected demand for the evening peak on June 15.
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