The Gauteng load reduction schedule is a spreadsheet Eskom publishes each month on its load reduction page. To check your area, download the Gauteng file, search it for your suburb, note the block letter next to it and read off the times listed for that block. Load reduction in Gauteng runs from 05:00 to 09:00 and from 17:00 to 22:00, and only areas in the file are affected.
Load reduction is not load shedding. Eskom’s statement of 2 October 2026 put the country at 504 consecutive days without load shedding since 16 May 2025, yet 202 590 Eskom customers in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal were still on load reduction.
Why Gauteng loses power when there is no load shedding
Load shedding is national. Eskom uses it when it cannot generate enough electricity for the whole country, and it moves through stages.
Load reduction is local. Eskom says it applies it only when a local network is overloaded, to prevent equipment failure and protect the neighbourhood from extended outages. A transformer or mini-substation that burns out can leave an area without power for far longer than a scheduled cut.
Eskom blames the overloading on illegal connections, electricity theft and meter tampering in specific areas. A paid-up customer on an overloaded feeder is switched off with everyone else on that feeder, which is why a stable national grid does not help households on the schedule.
How to check your area on the Gauteng load reduction schedule
- Open Eskom’s load reduction page. It sits under Outages Information on Eskom’s Distribution site: eskom.co.za/distribution/load-reduction.
- Download the Gauteng file. Eskom publishes Gauteng as an Excel spreadsheet and KwaZulu-Natal as a PDF. The file name carries the month: on 17 October 2026 the Gauteng link pointed to a file named Load-reduction-schedule-GAUTENG-OCTOBER-2026. If the month in the name is not the current one, treat the schedule as possibly out of date.
- Search for your area. Use the search function rather than scrolling: Ctrl+F on a computer, or the search option in your phone’s spreadsheet app. Try your suburb, township, extension or zone name.
- Note your block letter. Eskom groups areas into blocks labelled with letters such as A, B and C. The block, not the suburb name, is what the schedule is built around.
- Read off the times for your block. Check which slot your block falls in on the date you need. Do not assume the times are the same every day.
- Check again before you plan around it. Eskom posts a new file each month, and feeders taken off load reduction drop out of the schedule.
If your phone will not open the Excel file, a free spreadsheet app will.
If your area is not on the list
If your suburb is not in the Gauteng file, Eskom has not scheduled it for load reduction. An outage there is more likely a fault or an unplanned outage.
The same applies if your power goes off outside your block’s slot, or does not come back when the slot ends. Report it to Eskom customer care on 08600 37 566 or through the Alfred chat bot listed on Eskom’s site.
Eskom’s schedule covers areas Eskom supplies directly. If you buy electricity from your municipality, such as City Power in Johannesburg or the City of Tshwane, check that municipality’s outage notices instead.
The two load reduction slots
| Slot | Time | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Morning | 05:00 to 09:00 | 4 hours |
| Evening | 17:00 to 22:00 | 5 hours |
These are the times on Eskom’s load reduction page. If your block appears in both slots on the same day, you could be without power for nine hours that day.
Mistakes that give you the wrong times
Checking a load shedding app. Load shedding schedules and apps are built around national stages. They do not show load reduction.
Stopping at the township name. If a large township returns several results, match your exact extension, zone or section.
Trusting a forwarded screenshot. Schedules shared on WhatsApp or social media may be from a previous month. Go back to Eskom’s page for the current file.
How many Gauteng customers are still affected
Eskom’s 2 October 2026 statement gives these programme figures:
- 493 243 Gauteng customers are no longer affected by load reduction.
- 251 of Gauteng’s 604 targeted feeders have been taken off load reduction, about 42%. By our count, that leaves 353 still to clear.
- Nationally, 202 590 customers remain affected, 2.8% of Eskom’s customer base, down from 1.69 million.
- Seven of the nine provinces are free of load reduction. Only Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal remain.
Eskom’s load reduction page still says five provinces are free, but both documents agree that Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal are the only provinces left. Eskom’s target for ending load reduction is March 2027.
Our report on the Eskom load reduction eradication programme tracks progress against that deadline.
What gets an area off the schedule
Eskom says illegal connections and meter tampering are what keep areas on load reduction. Its main fixes are smart meters, distributed energy resources and wider Free Basic Electricity support.
By 2 October, Eskom had installed 517 872 smart meters on load reduction feeders, about 90% of its 577 347 target for high-priority areas. It said safety incidents, intimidation and work stoppages had delayed more than 122 000 planned installations.
Our guide to the Eskom smart meter rollout in Gauteng covers what households should expect.
What you can do:
- Report illegal connections, meter tampering and damaged infrastructure to the Eskom Crime Line on 0800 11 27 22, or by WhatsApp on 081 333 3323.
- Give installers access when smart meters are rolled out in your area. Eskom names smart meters as a key step in clearing feeders.
- If you are adding backup power, see our guide to solar registration.
Where to check
Eskom’s load reduction page is the official source for Gauteng load reduction areas and times, and links to the current Gauteng spreadsheet and the KwaZulu-Natal PDF. Eskom says it publishes a power system update every Friday evening on its media statements page, and recent updates have carried load reduction figures. For an outage that does not match your block, call customer care on 08600 37 566.
HOW WE REPORTED THIS
- Read Eskom Distribution's load reduction page, last modified 5 October 2026, for the time slots, block system, remaining provinces and contact numbers
- Read Eskom's media statement of 2 October 2026 for Gauteng and national feeder, customer and smart meter figures and the March 2027 target
- Calculated Gauteng feeder progress from the statement's figures as 251 of 604, about 42%, with 353 feeders remaining
