Sputla wants to treble free basic electricity allowance for SA households

Key topics:Govt reviewing Free Basic Electricity, may raise to 150kWh/monthEskom and experts push higher target (200–350kWh proposed)Mismanagement and theft limit access for eligible households.By Myles Illidge.Electricity and energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa revealed that his department was considering adjusting the Free Basic Electricity (FBE) allocation to 150 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month.Responding to a Parliamentary question from EFF MP Nqobile Mhlongo, the minister said the allocation was under review and that preliminary indications were that 150 units should suffice.“In line with the review of the Electricity Pricing Policy, the department will review the Free Basic Electricity quantum,” Ramokgopa said.“The quantum may need to be adjusted upwards to approximately 150kWh per month for qualifying indigent households, subject to technical, fiscal, and implementation assessments.”.Read more:.South Africa’s biggest cities to raise electricity tariffs from July 2026.The Public Affairs Research Institute previously suggested the amount should be lifted to between 250kWh and 350kWh, while Eskom and Ramokgopa had previously mentioned a 200kWh allocation.Eskom and Ramokgopa’s department have spoken of their desire to frequently increase the monthly allocation, which currently provides households with 50kWh of free electricity.They argued the increased allocation would help curb the trends of electricity theft and illegal connections in South Africa.Some poorer households, including those who qualify for the FBE grant and don’t receive it, have resorted to illegal connections and electricity theft due to rising costs.In November 2025, Eskom announced plans to increase the allocation, as part of its strategy to end load shedding in South Africa.Load reduction is a demand-side intervention implemented in areas where electrical infrastructure is overloaded, often due to a high number of illegal connections.Eskom said its plan to increase the FBE allocation would be implemented in stages, with the first stage prioritising expanding access to the grant to more qualifying households.It added that, after expanding access to the grant, it would move to gradually increase the allocation to 200kWh.It cited a study which indicated that a 200kWh allocation would stretch up to 28 days for a household with basic appliances.A few months earlier, Ramokgopa also said his department’s review and revision aimed to increase the allocation to 200kWh.FBE funds misappropriated.The current allocation of 50kWh of FBE per month was determined in 2003 and is now widely considered insufficient for modern electricity demands.Moreover, a significant portion of the funds allocated to municipalities for providing FBE is being misappropriated.In September 2025, energy expert Chris Yelland estimated that around 80% of the 10 million households eligible for free electricity don’t receive the allocation..Read more:.Eskom’s “profit” built on bailouts, not real financial recovery, expert says.For example, the City of Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest metro, received funding from the National Treasury to provide FBE to 950,000 indigent residents.At the time of Yelland’s analysis, the city’s indigent register had only around 30,000 indigent households. A large portion of the FBE funding was being used to pay for other services and functions.Despite having this extra funding, the city has repeatedly failed to pay its bulk electricity bills, with its outstanding debt to Eskom recently rising above R5 billion.Yelland described the situation as “effectively robbing the poor and using the money to benefit the municipality”. Eskom has made some progress in increasing FBE registrations..Read more:.Eskom’s revenue surge sparks debate over soaring electricity costs.According to an update from mid-May 2025, more than 577,000 of the 2.1 million households of Eskom Direct customers eligible for FBE were registered, up 19% from September 2025.A major contributor is that the funds provided to municipalities for FBE aren’t ring-fenced and are subject to mismanagement..This article was first published by MyBroadband and is republished with permission..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox every morning on weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa's bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here.

Sputla wants to treble free basic electricity allowance for SA households

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