BROKEN PROMISES

The document argues that South Africa's energy distribution system actively exacerbates poverty and inequality by failing to deliver on the affordable access promises of the 1998 White Paper on Energy. It identifies a critical conflict of interest where municipalities prioritize financial viability and revenue collection over the provision of Free Basic Electricity (FBE), leading to millions of funded households being denied benefits. The author contends that a 'just transition' to clean energy must include a 'just distribution' to prevent the entrenchment of a two-tier energy system.

• The 1998 White Paper on Energy established a commitment to promote affordable energy services for disadvantaged households, small businesses, and small farms, but subsequent implementation has largely failed to realize these goals.
• The Free Basic Electricity (FBE) policy's allocation of 50kWh per month is insufficient for basic needs; research suggests a minimum requirement of 200kWh to 420kWh per month for a household of five.
• There is a massive gap between the number of households funded for FBE in the national budget and those actually receiving the benefit; for the 2019/20 year, approximately 8 million funded households did not receive the service.
• Municipalities have a financial incentive to restrict access to FBE because unused funds from the national budget allocation for basic services are absorbed into general municipal revenue.
• The local government fiscal framework creates a trade-off where municipal financial sustainability is prioritized over affordable energy access, with electricity sales intended to cover 37 per cent of total operating expenditure requirements.
• Poor households are forced to use dangerous and polluting energy sources due to unaffordable electricity, contributing to an estimated 1,400 child deaths annually from indoor air pollution and approximately ten shack fires per day.
• A systemic failure of oversight exists because no single entity is responsible for the entire value chain of free basic services, leaving gaps between the National Treasury, Cogta, and the DMRE.
• The current energy distribution model risks creating two parallel systems: a visible clean system for those who can afford it and an invisible, dirty, and dangerous system for millions of poor households.

APA

Ledger, T. (2021). BROKEN PROMISES. Public Affairs Research Institute. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/broken-promises21-04-21c.pdf

Chicago

Ledger, Tracy. BROKEN PROMISES. Public Affairs Research Institute, 2021. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/broken-promises21-04-21c.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ledger |first1=Tracy |title=BROKEN PROMISES |publisher=Public Affairs Research Institute |date=April 2021 |url=https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/broken-promises21-04-21c.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ledger2021broken, author = {Ledger, Tracy}, title = {{BROKEN PROMISES}}, institution = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, year = {2021}, month = apr, url = {https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/broken-promises21-04-21c.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }