Does Load-Shedding Affect Your SASSA Payment?

Eskom said in May 2026 that it had passed a full year without load-shedding, the first time since September 2018, SAnews reported. Load-shedding is the national rolling blackout that Eskom schedules by stage. That is different from load reduction, which Eskom describes as targeted power limits in areas with heavy illegal connections or strained infrastructure. Load reduction can leave a community without power at fixed times without any stage being declared. So the risk we describe below is real for some neighbourhoods even now.

SASSA pays grants by electronic transfer into the account or card you gave it, and announces the payment days in advance. SASSA's own announcements about payment dates mention public holidays and weekends as the reasons dates move, and don't mention power cuts. Your money reaches your account whether or not the lights are on in your street.

• ATMs Banks reported in January 2023 that continuous power cuts make it hard to keep ATMs charged, and that they were fitting backup power. An ATM without power can't pay out cash.
• Shop card machines and tills A shop without power may not be able to take a card, so cash-back may not work.
• Cellphone signal Mobile networks run their towers on batteries that last six to twelve hours and need twelve to eighteen hours to recharge, TechCentral reported in 2023. Long outages can leave the signal down. SMS messages and PINs may arrive late, and the SRD portal may be out of reach.
• Your own phone A flat battery is a problem when SASSA sends you a verification message or you want to check your status.

1. Charge your phone before a scheduled outage. Keep a power bank if you can. It matters most on a day you expect a message or need to withdraw.
2. Check your balance before you travel. How to check your SASSA balance explains the ways that work without data, such as an SMS or a call to Postbank.
3. Try another ATM or a till. If the machine near you is down, an ATM in a different area may work, and many shops offer cash-back. Postbank says its cards work at all ATMs.
4. Don't hand your card or PIN to anyone who offers to help when the machine is down. SASSA says it never asks for your PIN.
5. Try again later for the portal or messages. Your status stays the same while the signal is down. To check it once the network is back, use the status checker, which takes you to the official portal.
6. If money is missing after a payment date, work through payment not received before you assume load-shedding is the cause.