Eskom doesn't know how much its 6.2 million smart meter rollout will cost, doesn't have all the meters in stock, and hasn't finalised procurement – yet insists it will meet its March 2026 target of 577 000 installations.
During a presentation to the portfolio committee on electricity and energy, senior executive Collin Reddy defended the utility's phased rollout plan of a total of 6.2 million smart meters extending to 2029, but struggled to answer questions about budgets and timelines.
Eskom aims to cover 6.2 million homes with intelligent devices by March 2029, starting with 577 000 smart meters under phase one to be completed by the end of next March. Reddy said high-priority areas for implementation are where people are most impacted by load-reduction.
The main focus of the presentation was on Eskom's plan to eliminate load-reduction – which many consider to be load-shedding by another name – by 2027.
“Load-reduction is not necessarily load-shedding in disguise,” Reddy said, explaining that it is a localised issue caused by overloaded feeders resulting from high electricity theft.
Eliminating outages
The rollout of smart meters is part of its effort to keep the lights on, as they enable two-way visibility into electricity consumption. This allows Eskom to identify when power is being used but not paid for.
In the most recent financial year, the utility lost R30 billion in revenue due to electricity theft.
Expanded access to free basic electricity for indigent households is another part of the strategy to eliminate load-reduction.
Reddy argued that free power should reduce the incentive to steal electricity, which not only causes economic damage but can also lead to loss of life as criminals work with live cables.
“We must have this emphasis on zero: zero tolerance toward theft, vandalism or illegal connections.”
Eskom's plans are in line with those of National Treasury and the City of Johannesburg, both of which are pushing to install these devices in thousands of homes to reduce misappropriated revenue.
National Treasury has set a target of installing 250 000 smart electricity meters by the end of the 2027 financial year, to be deployed in homes receiving electricity from municipalities. City Power, meanwhile, plans to convert all electricity meters to prepaid.
Fuzzy numbers
During the Parliamentary presentation, several MPs expressed doubts that Eskom's smart meter rollout would meet its targets.
They highlighted the gap between the current stock of 278 000 meters and the planned 577 000, questioned the sufficiency of resources, and raised concerns about whether the rollout could be completed on time.
Reddy noted that, while he didn’t have the exact numbers with him, Eskom has “roughly 278 000 meters in stock,” with monthly targets of “roughly 100 000 meters for this month and 100 000 for next month and then about 45 000” in December.
He added that Eskom has installed “about 131 000 or 137 000” meters under its 2025 to 2029 project.
Eskom will have “adequate smart meters to fulfil our requirements for meeting phase one of this target,” as it is in a tender process. This phase aims to see 577 000 meters installed by the end of its current financial year next March, Reddy said.
However, Eskom still needs to procure additional smart meters for the duration of its rollout scheme, which runs until the end of March 2029 through a tender process, Reddy explained.
Tender hurdles
The MPs also raised concerns about potential delays inherent in tender and procurement processes, noting that with much of the supply still subject to open tenders, timelines could slip further.
They emphasised the need for clear numbers, firm schedules, and assurances that logistical and procedural hurdles would not prevent the project from meeting its deadlines.
Yet, Reddy was unable to answer repeated questions about the total project cost, noting that disclosing this information could contravene the tender process. He said only that it would be funded from Eskom's balance sheet and that the utility was following an open tender process in line with the Public Finance Management Act and National Treasury requirements.
“The budget still needs to be worked out… It is not predetermined over a period of time.”
Reddy also noted that all smart meters to date “have been procured locally through local, open and transparent tender processes,” and that Eskom supports the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition's requirement of 50% local content.
“We certainly are supporting localisation,” he said.
Share