LISTEN | Firmest resistance to smart meters in Gauteng, KZN: Eskom chair Mteto Nyati - TimesLIVE

Eskom is continuing to grapple with resistance to the installation of prepaid smart meters throughout the country aimed at eradicating load reduction, with the highest levels of resistance in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, according to Eskom board chairperson Mteto Nyati.

Nyati told TimesLIVE on Monday the highly populated provinces were the only two where load reduction had not yet been eradicated.

“It is much more difficult in Gauteng and in KZN — very difficult. I have not done the research [on why]; all we know is that we are getting much more resistance there than in other provinces,” he said.

“And you may or may not know that we are only left with two provinces where we have not eliminated load reduction. That’s Gauteng and KZN — and those are the two provinces where there is resistance.”

In September 2025 minister of electricity and energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa set the government a 12-month deadline to end load reduction, which affects mostly poor areas in the country that rely on the national grid.

“I’m announcing [that] we’re ending load reduction … The period we have set ourselves is anything between 12 and 18 months, but it can be exceptionally shorter than that … What is worrying about load reduction is that it’s got an appearance of discrimination on an income basis,” Ramokgopa said at the time.

However, the minister recently sounded the alarm over community resistance and intimidation that was delaying the installation of more than 122,000 smart meters. He said the government would continue to grapple with the challenge of meter blockage and illegal connections.

It is much more difficult in Gauteng and in KZN — very difficult. I have not done the research [on why]; all we know is that we are getting much more resistance there than in other provinces.

Speaking to TimesLIVE on the sidelines of the Project Management Institute (PMI) Global Summit in Cape Town on Monday, Nyati said Eskom leadership and Ramokgopa remain engaged on this and other challenges in SA’s electricity system.

“Minister Ramokgopa and Eskom, we are always together. It’s not like there is a discussion that is happening there and a [different] discussion happening here. When he stands up and he reflects on what is happening in the industry, it’s because he has picked all of that up from working with us in the trenches,” he said.