South Africas efforts to eliminate load reduction are increasingly focused on the distribution layer with Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa positioning smart metering as a central tool in stabilising overloaded networks and enabling more targeted system control.
Addressing the National Assembly on March 24, Ramokgopa said load reduction is not a generation shortfall but a localised network protection measure triggered by sustained overloading at the distribution level.
At its peak, 971 feeders affecting approximately 1,69 million customers were placed under load reduction largely due to illegal connections, meter bypassing and infrastructure stress, he said.
