Tackling Urban Energy Poverty in South Africa
South Africa is an emerging economy, and while the economy has grown and energy consumption has increased accordingly, the country remains challenged. Our human development indices are low, South Africa is ranked 110 out of 169 (UNDP, 2010) and our Gini coefficient of 0.7 is high by international standards. Unemployment remains a substantial concern – 25.6% of the total population were unemployed in the second quarter of 2013. The rate of urbanisation is growing with currently 64% of the South Africa’s population living in urban centres, and estimated to rise to 70% by 2030 with most of that growth occurring in the informal and low income sectors.
Since 1994 Government has introduced many laudable and strong pro-poor policies notably the 1998 White Paper on Energy, the policy for Free Basic Electricity (FBE) and the policy for Free Basic Alternative Policy (FBAE) and an impressive national electrification and housing programme. Yet despite these enormous efforts the country still struggles with energy poverty issues.2014 marks the 20th anniversary since South Africa’s democracy. President Zuma recently announced that the intent of the ANC’s 2014 manifesto is to build jobs, create an inclusive economy, transform rural areas, ensure decent living conditions and sustainable human settlements and that this will includea focus on the provision of basic services and electrification.
However, if the country is to achieve a reduction in energy poverty and reach its goal of 100% electrification, then policy and regulatory frameworks and resources to support energy service delivery and implementation need to be urgently and constructively reviewed.
The purpose of this short piece of research was to consider the challenges and opportunities for energy access at local government level with a particular focus on electrification and issues relating to urban energy poverty.
To this end the project undertook:
- Desktop research and data analysis to deepen the understanding of the energy consumption patterns as well the energy burden of poor urban households and the urban poverty/energy linkages;
- A review and assessment of the impact of energy related policies on urban poor household livelihoods which explores key themes, including: universal access to energy (physical infrastructure as well as economic access – tariffs and subsidies) and livelihood resilience (the energy burden impact of housing and spatial form);
- A half day meeting with National Treasury and the National Department of Energy to engage on the issues pro–poor urban energy development;
- Recommendations for a way forward in ensuring that the provision of electricity to the urban poor in South Africa through this research paper which will be widely disseminated.