It’s good news regarding free electricity for SASSA beneficiaries. Speaking earlier this week, Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa explained that the rising cost of living is eroding the state’s social wage. And government should do more about it …
Essentially, all of the billions spent on social welfare is being undone by rising fuel, electricity and general living costs. As such, the minister recommends that government increase the amount of free basic electricity for SASSA beneficiaries from the current 50 kWh to 300 kWh.
FREE ELECTRICITY FOR SASSA BENEFICIARIES
In principal, the minister worries that the rising cost of living has begun to undermine the South African Social Security Agency‘s efforts. The agency’s social wage is what it spends to support low-income households. This includes social grants, but also free basic services like electricity, water, rates and refuse, which are available through local municipalities.
Moreover, the minister wishes to reduce the size of electricity tariff increases. He says Eskom hopes to keep price hikes in line with inflation in the coming years, following a succession of massive increases that are hurting poor South Africans’ pockets.
THE POOR NEED OUR HELP
“There is a special category of South Africans that deserves our help. If you think about it, you give them SASSA grants on the one hand. But on the other hand, you are taking it back through higher administered prices. This creates the net effect of keeping South Africans poor,” explains Ramokgopa.
“We think we must increase free electricity for SASSA beneficiaries from 50 kWh to a number like 300 kWh. Doing so is not going to burden the state, and we do not want to create a situation where many simply cannot afford electricity,” Ramokgopa says. This new proposed electricity pricing policy is working its way through Cabinet now and will be made public later this year.
FREE ELECTRICITY FOR SASSA BENEFICIARIES
However, critics of the free electricity for SASSA beneficiaries scheme believes it’s all ANC posturing ahead of November 2026 elections. Energy experts say the FBE programme has been mostly ineffective over the past two decades. Eskom CFO Calib Cassim revealed recently that of the 10-million homes that qualify, a mere 2 million actually receive the benefit.
Furthermore, Cassim argues it is the mechanisms for delivering this price relief that is the problem. There are significant administrative hoops to jump through to gain access to free electricity for SASSA beneficiaries. “It is not a funding problem. It is an execution problem at the level of municipalities. There is a need for us to find a more reliable way to ensure households receive this benefit,” Cassim says.
But what do you think? Were you aware the free electricity for SASSA beneficiaries was even available through your local municipality? If so, do you partake in the benefit and is it enough to make a difference? Let us know in the comments section below …
