AFFORDABILITY OF BASIC SERVICES for South African Households

The report argues that South Africa's current free basic services (FBS) for electricity and water are insufficient to lift households out of poverty, providing only 'survival access' rather than 'developmental access'. It finds that for 40% of the population living below the lower-bound poverty line, current tariffs are unaffordable, often forcing a trade-off between paying for utilities and purchasing adequate nutrition. The document identifies 'adverse inclusion'—where physical connection to a grid exists but the terms of use are restrictive or unaffordable—as a primary barrier to socioeconomic development. It recommends increasing free electricity from 50kWh to 150kWh and water from 6kl to 8kl per month for the poorest 7.5 million households, while replacing municipal discretion in indigent registration with a national policy.

• Current free basic service (FBS) allocations for water (25 litres per person per day) and electricity (50kWh per household per month) provide only 'survival access', which is insufficient for productive activities, water heating, or improved sanitation.
• The report defines 'developmental access' as the minimum level of services required to support a higher standard of living and livelihood opportunities: 350kWh of electricity and 13.2kl of water per month for a household of four.
• For the 40% of the population living below the lower-bound poverty line, current service costs are unaffordable, meaning they cannot reach developmental usage levels without sacrificing basic needs like food.
• Many poor households experience 'adverse inclusion', where they have physical connections to services but the terms of inclusion—such as unaffordability, poor quality, or restrictive conditions—prevent poverty reduction.
• There is a significant gap between the number of households funded for free basic services and those actually receiving them; in 2022, only 1.7 million households received the free basic electricity (FBE) allocation despite national funding for 10.9 million households.
• Municipalities often impose restrictive conditions on indigent households, such as limiting total usage to maintain free benefits or requiring low-amp electricity connections (20 amp) that prevent the simultaneous use of stoves and kettles.
• The reliability of basic services has declined, with water interruptions becoming more frequent; by 2022, 33% of urban consumers experienced water interruptions more than once a month.
• The report proposes a fiscal trade-off: limiting free services to the 7.5 million households living below the minimum wage income level to allow for an increase in benefits (150kWh electricity and 8kl water), costing an estimated R6.5 billion per annum.

APA

LEDGER, T., & MATHIBELA, N. (2025). AFFORDABILITY OF BASIC SERVICES for South African Households. Public Affairs Research Institute. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/20250617_affordabilityDIGIsingles.pdf

Chicago

LEDGER, TRACY, and NONHLANHLA MATHIBELA. AFFORDABILITY OF BASIC SERVICES for South African Households. Public Affairs Research Institute, 2025. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/20250617_affordabilityDIGIsingles.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=LEDGER |first1=TRACY |last2=MATHIBELA |first2=NONHLANHLA |title=AFFORDABILITY OF BASIC SERVICES for South African Households |publisher=Public Affairs Research Institute |date=June 2025 |url=https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/20250617_affordabilityDIGIsingles.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ledger2025affordability, author = {LEDGER, TRACY and MATHIBELA, NONHLANHLA}, title = {{AFFORDABILITY OF BASIC SERVICES for South African Households}}, institution = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, year = {2025}, month = jun, url = {https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/20250617_affordabilityDIGIsingles.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }