Cape Town — Minister of Electricity Kgotsientsho Ramokgopa has pledged that all South Africans will have universal access to electricity by 2029.
Speaking before the Human Rights Commission, which investigated the impact of load reduction on human rights, Ramokgopa said that every household, including those in rural areas, would be connected to the grid, according to EWN.
He noted that 1.6 million South African households currently lack electricity but expressed confidence that this number would be eliminated by 2029.
The Minister also highlighted that in 1994, only 36% of the population had electricity access, with 96% of that group being white.
“The country will achieve universal access in the seventh administration. I’m more than confident. We are going to achieve universal access. We are going to design financing instruments that are going to make it possible for us to accelerate the connection and the delivery of this electricity. It’s cleaner, it’s cost-effective and it’s also affordable. I’m confident that we are going to reach that,” he said.
#loadreduction| “What the government is doing now in attempt to sustain the grid, is to invite those who are bypassing to present themselves to ESKOM to be connected legally. We shall provide you with smart meters and basic electricity subsidy” Ramokgopa pic.twitter.com/giCNZEeJRx
— SAHRCommission (@SAHRCommission) February 18, 2025
According to Daily Maverick, Ramokgopa said that universal electricity access would be achievable if everything goes according to plan under the seventh administration of the Government of National Unity (GNU).
The minister also noted that many municipalities owe Eskom more than R100 billion in collective debt, while the municipalities are owned more than R387 billion by consumers, which was described as a “complex national problem” by the 2023 Treasury Municipal Debt Relief Circular.
He said non-payment was one of the factors to affect electricity prices.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
