High pricing makes it 'exceptionally difficult' for South Africans to afford electricity - Ramokgopa

JOHANNESBURG - Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says high pricing and tariffs have made it “exceptionally difficult” for ordinary South Africans to afford electricity.

Ramokgopa said the R200 monthly surcharge, implemented by Joburg City Power, is an example of how expensive electricity provision is.

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The Minister spoke on the sidelines of the cabinet lekgotla in Pretoria on Saturday.

Ramokgopa said the government’s focus would be on providing sustainable access to electricity but also making sure it is affordable for everyone.

“We know that over a period of time, municipalities have under-invested in maintenance, replenishment and protection of the distribution grid and of course, we are paying the price now, including the areas that are serviced by Eskom. We made the point that the debt levels of municipalities to Eskom sit at about R78 billion, it's an unsustainable situation so we need to resolve that crisis.”

Ramokgopa said the government would be investing in new forms of energy, like nuclear, to improve electricity provision.

"We made the point that in the long term that we need to anchor the base load and nuclear is an important part of that intervention. As I said we are working on a framework for a procurement – because we don’t want to discredit the process through a procurement process that is not transparent. Of course, we will do it at a scale and speed we can afford as a country.”