State-owned Eskom says it has reached an important milestone in its nationwide Load Reduction Eradication Programme, with five of the country's nine provinces now free from load reduction.

To date, more than 1.1-million customers have been removed from load reduction schedules, representing a 65.17% performance towards the programme's load reduction eradication target.

Originally implemented to address overloaded local networks and protect electricity infrastructure, the programme has removed 545 feeders from load reduction nationally, with the remaining load reduction areas concentrated largely in Gauteng, followed by KwaZulu-Natal.

Eskom says this milestone follows the successful elimination of load reduction in Mpumalanga, which has joined the Western Cape, Northern Cape, Free State and North West as provinces that are now free from load reduction.

The utility states that it is on track to eliminate load reduction in seven provinces by October, with national eradication targeted by March 2027.

"The elimination of load reduction forms part of Eskom's broader commitment to transforming electricity service delivery across South Africa. While significant progress has been made in improving generation performance and sustaining power system stability, we recognise that some communities continue to experience the impact of load reduction.

"Reaching the milestone of more than one-million customers removed from load reduction demonstrates that the programme is delivering tangible results. However, the work is not complete. The remaining areas, particularly in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, require sustained investment, continued infrastructure upgrades, the deployment of advanced technologies and ongoing collaboration with communities and stakeholders to address the root causes of network overloading," says Eskom group executive for distribution Junaid Munshi.