Ramaphosa says ANC deserves credit for ‘ending load shedding’

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the African National Congress (ANC) deserves credit for ending load shedding in South Africa.

Ramaphosa said this while delivering the ANC’s manifesto for the 4 November local government elections at Riverside in Diepsloot, Gauteng, on Sunday, 23 August.

RAMAPHOSA HAILS ANC FOR ENDING LOAD SHEDDING

During his address, Ramaphosa said the country had recorded 460 consecutive days without load shedding, describing it as a major achievement for the ANC-led government.

“This is the work of the ANC… Seven of our provinces are now free from load reduction and work is continuing in the remaining affected areas in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. We know that while load shedding has largely ended there is load reduction and yes, our Department of Electricity is solving that problem on an ongoing basis,” he said.

South Africa experienced some of its most severe periods of load shedding in recent years as Eskom struggled to meet electricity demand because of ageing power stations, breakdowns and insufficient generation capacity.

COMMUNITIES CONTINUE TO EXPERIENCE LOAD REDUCTION

Load shedding is the controlled interruption of electricity supply to prevent the national grid from becoming overloaded when available generation is insufficient to meet demand.

However, South Africa has now gone more than a year without load shedding. Eskom says the country has been without load shedding since 16 May 2025, with improved generation performance and fewer unplanned outages contributing to the sustained improvement.

The utility has attributed the improvement to its Generation Recovery Plan, which has focused on improving the performance and availability of its power stations. Eskom has also reported lower reliance on diesel-fired generation and improved energy availability.

Despite the end of load shedding, some communities continue to experience load reduction.

Unlike load shedding, load reduction is primarily aimed at protecting overloaded local electricity distribution networks and infrastructure. Eskom says the programme was introduced in areas where overloaded networks posed a risk to infrastructure and supply reliability.

Ramaphosa said load reduction would also eventually end and argued that the progress demonstrated what could be achieved through effective leadership and cooperation.

“Load reduction will end and this achievement shows what can be achieved when there is clear leadership, skilled management, disciplined execution and cooperation across government, public institutions and business, labour and society,” he said.

Eskom has been progressively removing areas from load reduction schedules, with Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal among the provinces where work remains ongoing. The utility is targeting the eventual elimination of load reduction nationally.

Ramaphosa also praised Eskom’s improved performance.

“Yes, our Eskom is now delivering electricity properly on an ongoing basis and our Eskom, remember, is 100% owned by the people of South Africa,” he said.