Over 720,000 Homes Regain Stable Power as Eskom Expands Electricity Access in South Africa

South Africa’s state-owned power company, Eskom, has revealed that more than 720,000 households have regained stable electricity supply as efforts to improve electricity access continue across the country.

The progress is said to have come through Load Reduction Elimination Programme, which is helping many communities move away from frequent electricity disruptions and enjoy more reliable power.

Programme reaches hundreds of thousands of homes

According to Eskom, the programme has already restored normal electricity supply to more than 720,000 households. This represents about 43 per cent of customers previously affected by load reduction measures.

The company said the programme currently covers 971 electricity feeders and is expected to benefit about 1.69 million customers from its total customer base of 7.2 million.

Eskom plans to completely remove load reduction in seven provinces by October 2026. Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal are expected to achieve the same target in 2027.

The improvements are believed to be parts of efforts to provide safer and more dependable electricity to homes and communities across South Africa.

Better power generation supports supply gains

Eskom said improved performance at its power stations has helped make the programme possible.

The company reported that South Africa has now gone nearly 400 consecutive days without load-shedding, even as electricity demand increased during the winter season.

It said the Energy Availability Factor over the past three months reached 63.24 per cent. This was 5.33 percentage points higher than the same period last year and 9.5 percentage points better than three years ago.

It was also reported that there were fewer unplanned outages. Average unplanned outages between June 5 and June 11, 2026, stood at 10,143 megawatts, down from 14,447 megawatts recorded during the same period in 2025.

At the same time, Eskom increased planned maintenance work to improve long-term reliability and meet environmental requirements.

The company also recorded a sharp drop in diesel spending. Between April 1 and June 11, 2026, diesel costs fell by 88.67 per cent to 615.58 million rand, compared with 4.11 billion rand during the same period last year.

Despite the progress, Eskom warned that illegal electricity connections and meter tampering remain major challenges. It said these activities damage infrastructure, increase safety risks and can affect electricity supply in some areas.

Efforts to provide reliable electricity to more South Africans are ongoing.