According to the latest official numbers from Eskom, there are 900,000 South Africans registered to receive free basic electricity from the power utility. In response to questions from MyBroadband related to the adoption of its Free Basic Electricity (FBE) programme, the power utility said that of this number, 700,000 claimed their electricity vouchers.

It noted, however, that this was based on data from May 2020 and did not provide an estimate of current FBE beneficiary numbers. The Free Basic Electricity Programme is an initiative aimed at poor households who are unable or struggle to afford basic electricity costs. “The Free Basic Electricity Programme is a programme of the government, through which it aims to provide some free electricity to indigent households,” Eskom said.

How it works

Eskom explained that free basic electricity is applied for via municipalities, which are then reimbursed by Eskom. “Through municipalities, the government pays for their electricity vouchers that can be redeemed monthly for free electricity,” “Upon presentation of the voucher, which can be obtained by visiting your local municipal office, Eskom will credit the customer with the amount decided by the municipality, which ranges between R50 and R150 per month, depending on the municipality.”

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Source: MyBroadband