RE: South Africa17 Dec 2025 21:46
Besides Eskom you think several smart meter companies should have a good period of growth in the coming years.
It's currently been a cluster fook over there.
Eskom's smart meter rollout in KwaZulu-Natal, starting October 2025, aims to revolutionise electricity management, enhance customer experience, and eliminate load reduction challenges across South Africa.
Eskom has ramped up its national smart meter rollout, kicking off installations in KwaZulu-Natal last week Monday. The power utility said the project is part of a broader plan to modernise the national grid and improve the way customers experience electricity supply.
The goal is ambitious but Eskom vowed to help put an end to load reduction challenges within the next 12 to 18 months. Over the next three years, Eskom aims to install 7.2 million smart meters across South Africa. The current phase of the rollout is expected to benefit about 800,000 customers.
Capabilities and Benefits
Smart meters are becoming a central part of Eskom’s plan to address its financial and operational challenges, including growing debt and widespread electricity theft.
According to the power utility, the new technology will allow it to remotely disconnect users who don’t pay, helping to protect paying customers from the consequences of non-payment.
The meters are also meant to tighten control over the grid. They make it easier to detect tampering and illegal electricity sales, and give Eskom more accurate data to plan ahead and respond to issues more quickly. Because the technology removes the need for manual readings, it can also lower operational costs.
Another aim of the rollout is to expand access to Free Basic Electricity (FBE) for qualifying households. Currently, only 485,000 of Eskom’s 2.1 million eligible customers receive this benefit. Smart meters would allow the government to “front-load” the 50 kWh monthly allocation, potentially reaching more households.
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For users, the meters provide real-time information about consumption and remove the reliance on estimated bills. This could make it easier for households to budget and monitor their usage. The system also supports Time-of-Use pricing, which charges different rates depending on the time of day, allowing people to shift some usage to cheaper off-peak hours if they choose.
Eskom has asked customers to ensure its teams can safely access meter boxes during installation. It is worth noting that the rollout is not optional and older meters will eventually be replaced and taken out of use.
The utility has also introduced an incentive scheme linked to the new technology. Households with fully activated smart meters and no outstanding payments can receive R90 a month if they agree to let Eskom remotely limit their electricity supply during peak demand periods. Participants will receive an SMS alert an hour before a “load limiting” event and are encouraged to switch off high-usage appliances like geys
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