{
  "id": 17781766,
  "title": "KZN remains the only province experiencing load reduction: Here are the affected areas",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/02/kzn-remains-the-only-province-experiencing-load-reduction-here-are",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-02T10:32:43.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Citizen",
    "slug": "the-citizen",
    "url": "https://www.citizen.co.za/news/kzn-remains-the-only-province-experiencing-load-reduction-here-are-the-affected-areas/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The Citizen reports that KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) is the only province still experiencing load reduction in South Africa. Load reduction is implemented when a local network is overloaded to prevent equipment failure and protect the neighbourhood from extended outages. The latest load reduction schedule in KZN will run until 31 November 2026, with affected areas scheduled for reduction between 5am-7am and 5pm-7pm. These areas include Abaqulusi, Impendle, Okhahlamba, UMngeni, Indaka, Mpofana, Emnambithi, Richmond, EThekwini, Mandeni, Newcastle, Umzumbe, Vulamehlo, Coast, Ulundi, Ladysmith, Ndwedwe, and Nqutu. Despite the power system remaining stable and generation capacity exceeding demand, illegal connections and meter tampering persist in certain localised areas, making load reduction a temporary measure in high-risk areas to protect communities and the network.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}