Reasons Behind Smart Meter Rollout in Affluent Areas
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Reasons Behind Smart Meter Rollout in Affluent Areas
Eskom seems to be prioritizing affluent suburbs for smart meter installation to immediately secure payment from consumers who are already paying and are less likely to engage in electricity theft or payment default. This approach creates reliable revenue streams but has little effect on reduces municipal arrears faster because these customers pay upfront via prepaid systems.
In lower-income areas heavily affected by load reduction, illegal connections are rampant, and enforcement efforts have proven largely ineffective. Multiple reports confirm that even when Eskom or City Power disconnect illegal connections, residents typically reconnect within 48 hours. Historical patterns show that forced disconnection frequently triggers unrest and protests, making whole-area removals and long-term enforcement unfeasible both logistically and politically.
Because affluent users can reliably pay and are less likely to resist or circumvent new meters, targeting these areas effectively protects Eskom’s investment while also assisting in reporting by lifting performance averages after the rollout is complete. If Eskom only focus on the key areas then the effective average is for less than if you bring the nonproblematic regions into the equation. This helps Eskom report inaccurate figures, even if broader systemic debt, especially from impoverished municipalities, remains unresolved or retrogresses further.
Eskom aggressively disconnects non-paying or theft-prone areas is unsustainable and risks inciting mass protest or riots, as seen historically. This could result in up to 1.7 million people (over 24% of their base) being excluded from the grid, risking mass social upheaval. Eskom and municipal authorities would obviously seek to avoid this outcome. However, authorities also know that government intervention would, in any way, eventually force reconnection, making lasting solutions elusive.
The logic behind deploying smart meters in wealthy suburbs is to lock in paying users and minimize financial leakage—these meters are unlikely to face bypass, removal, or sabotage.
Rolling out smart meters in high-theft, low-income areas is an ongoing, often failing battle; infrastructure is repeatedly bypassed, damaged or stolen, and as long as poverty and unemployment persist, payment compliance remains unattainable.
It is extremely unlikely Eskom will ever recover full payment compliance or totally eradicate theft in impoverished communities without major social change or free basic services; offering “free power” might be the only sustainable remedy, but that shifts the burden onto paying consumers through higher tariffs or public subsidies.
Given Eskom’s promise to eliminate load reduction by 2027, the only practical option is a two-tier system: enforce payment where possible (affluent areas) and accept managed losses or subsidized supply in low-income areas, otherwise risk social crisis and further infrastructure damage.
Eskom’s approach risks placing the burden of financial losses on paying customers via tariff increases, especially as untargeted smart meter deployment fails to curb theft where it’s most rampant. Addressing these challenges transparently is vital to securing the buy-in from the community as well as South Africa’s energy future.
Sources: Eskom, Moody’s (News24), BusinessTech, Citizen, The South African, MyBroadband