Households that are entitled to the monthly free basic electricity allocation aren’t all collecting their tokens.
|||Johannesburg - Free basic what?
Households that are entitled to the monthly free basic electricity allocation aren’t all collecting their tokens. That means that despite the price of electricity going up every year, less free electricity is being used.
The free basic electricity (FBE) allocation of 50 kilowatt hours a month is for all indigent households. It’s provided by Eskom to its direct customers who qualify, and by the municipalities to their customers.
“As of March 2015, the total number of customers configured for FBE was 1 177 250 but only 911 075 customers collected their FBE tokens (these include 20Amps, 60Amps, and conventional configured customers),” said Eskom.
“This amounts to a total of 870 060MWh of FBE consumed in the 2014/15 financial year; compared to 960 348MWh FBE consumed in the 2013/14 financial year.”
The Department of Energy lists the 50kWh as enough for basic lighting, using a small black-and-white TV, a small radio, basic ironing and basic water boiling through an electric kettle.
“Users who have prepaid electricity meters will be able to see when the free electricity is used up and will then have to buy more electricity at their expense. Users with conventional or credit meters will see a credit of 50kWh on their monthly bill, which is the FBE units,” said Eskom.
“Any additional use is billed as per the applicable tariff. It is important to note that some municipalities give more than 50kWh of FBE, in line with their resolutions.”
louise.flanagan@inl.co.za
The Star