10 Million Households Qualify for Free Electricity: Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa

• The Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, said millions of households qualify for free basic electricity
• He said that only 20% of the 10 million who qualify have access to it and has pointed out how concerning it is to have high electricity tariffs
• Ramokgopa said action must be taken against high tariff rates, which would ultimately affect poorer households

Tebogo Mokwena, Briefly News's current affairs journalist, offered coverage of current affairs like loadshedding, fuel prices and environmental affairs during his seven years at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.

JOHANNESBURG — The Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, worries about the impact of high tariffs on poorer households. He also said 10 million households technically qualify to access free basic electricity.

10 million households qualify for free electricity

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According to SABC News, Ramokgopa addressed the media on 12 August and said that 10 million households qualify for free electricity. However, only a fifth of that number have access to it, and registration delays hamper the progress of electrifying 8 million houses.

Ramokgopa also said the country's poor homes will suffer from the high tariff hikes the National Energy Regulator South Africa has yet to approve. Eskom tabled the proposed tariff hikes, which could see an increase of more than 40%. He said if the high tariffs are not addressed, communities will be left without electricity.

"We want to ensure electricity is affordable to how-income households, and that is what we are working on, to ensure we don't experience energy poverty."

Netizens complain of high tariffs

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South Africans on Facebook blamed high inflation, cost of living, illegal connections and the high tariffs.

Msindisi Dube said:

"The model is unsustainable and it will again collapse the utility because it promotes vandalising and bridging."

Itani Meshack Tshavhungwe said:

"The biggest challenge of all time is illegal connections."

Isa PS said:

"People are already struggling to keep up with the high cost of living."

Bonolo More said:

"It's all because of our incompetent councillors who do not convene weekly meetings to inform people about everything there is to know about the indigent programme."

Ramokgopa defends Eskom's continued use of coal for generation

Similarly, Briefly News reported that Ramokgopa defended the country using coal-fired energy generation.

He said despite the pressure for Eskom to adopt greener energy, Ramokgopa said Eskom would continue to use coal to generate power.

Source: Briefly News