New release : Electrification Statistics 2009
Introduction
The Integrated National Electrification Programme (INEP) is aimed at improving the socio-economic conditions of households and communities. In April 2002, the Department of Minerals and Energy took over responsibility for funding the INEP from Eskom.
The government's intention is to achieve universal household access to basic electricity. The INEP remains the flagship of the DME. By May 2005, the INEP had delivered connections to:
- 232 287 households (at a cost of R582-million);
- 2 233 school connections (R100-million); and
- 50 clinic connections (R118-million).
The department is obliged to ensure that the government objectives on Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), job creation, youth empowerment and poverty alleviation through economic empowerment are achieved. It is imperative for the department to monitor and validate the information reported by the licensed service providers on the engagement of the historically disadvantaged individuals (HDIs) in the implementation of INEP.
The
National Electricity Basic Services Support Tariff Policy [PDF] was gazetted in July 2003. The policy aims to bring relief, through government intervention, to low income households and to ensure optimal socioeconomic benefits from the INEP.
Qualifying customers are eligible for 50 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of
free electricity a month. Eskom is a service provider for free basic electricity in its areas of supply. By providing this basic service, the government hopes to offer social relief to those who earn less than the national minimum wage levels. Although users have access to a basic quantity of 50 KWh per household per month in terms of the policy, users will pay the normal tariff for any consumption exceeding 50 KWh per month.
By May 2005, the DME was ready to hand over free basic electricity policy implementation to the Department of Provincial and Local Government. The department's intervention added 3.5-million qualifying recipients. New jobs and small, medium and micro-enterprise (SMME) opportunities in KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and Limpopo have been created as a result of the Non-Grid Electrification of Schools Programme.
By May 2005, about 1 100
schools had been electrified through the programme. This was achieved in one year, which represents more than 50 percent of the total number of schools electrified in the previous five years. School electrification is done parallel to the installation of e-learning facilities to ensure that learners become computer literate.
Rural households using
solar energy will benefit from a limited operation and maintenance subsidy up to a maximum of R40 per household. Rural solar-energy users will then be liable for paying any amount above the R40 monthly subsidy.
To make
paraffin more affordable, the DME removed the levying of value-added tax (VAT) on it.
There are a number of issues facing South Africa's electricity industry which limits its ability to achieve its primary objectives of meeting aggressive electrification targets, of ensuring world-class supply quality, and of continuing to provide low cost and equitably priced electricity to all customers. The
restructuring of the electricity supply industry (ESI) (see below) and the
electricity distribution industry (EDI) are ways of meeting these objectives.
The government announced in February 2004 that it would allocate R200-million towards providing
free basic electricity to poor people in an effort to improve their living conditions.
There are 13 modules that make up the
INEP planning and implementation manual, which gives guidance on how the new electrification process should be approached in South Africa.
Restructuring of the electricity supply industry
In December 1998, government released the
White Paper on Energy Policy [PDF, 592KB], which sets out its
policy objectives for the entire energy sector. These objectives are to increase access to affordable energy services, improve energy governance, stimulate economic development, manage energy-related environmental impacts and secure energy supplies through diversity.
Restructuring aims to improve the quality of life of all South Africans and to increase economic growth and redeploy assets. To ensure non-discriminatory and open access to transmission lines, and taking into consideration the financial stability of Eskom, government, in the medium term, is to establish a separate state-owned transmission company.
