South Africans urged to apply for free Eskom electricity

City Power is urging low-income Johannesburg residents to register for its Free Basic Electricity (FBE) programme, which offers 50 kWh of free electricity per month, exemption from surcharges, and meter repairs.

According to City Power, this initiative aims to provide eligible customers with free electricity units each month as part of its broader strategy to ensure inclusive access to electricity.

It also aims to enhance customer compliance and prevent electricity theft and equipment damage resulting from network overload due to illegal connections and tampering.

The registration drive will run from 17 June to 31 July 2025, with a target of registering 130,000 indigent customers.

Once registered, eligible residents will receive 50 kWh of electricity per month at no cost, which will enable them to meet their essential household needs, such as lighting, cooking, and heating.

“Access to electricity is not a luxury, but a key feature required to support social and economic upliftment,” said City Power CEO Tshifularo Mashava.

“This programme is not just about addressing the high levels of meter tampering and illegal connections; it’s about restoring dignity by ensuring that there’s greater access.”

This project is also a critical part of City Power’s broader efforts to reintroduce more than 140,000 non-vending customers to the culture of paying for services.

Many of these customers are consuming electricity without paying, resulting in substantial revenue losses for the utility and the ongoing deterioration of our infrastructure.

Illegal electricity theft has been a significant problem at Eskom for years. From 1 April 2024 until the end of February 2025, the power utility said infrastructure vandalism and theft have cost R221 million.

This is a decrease from R271 million in the same period of the previous year. However, the true extent of this problem is even bigger.

Electricity theft costs taxpayers billions

EE Business Intelligence managing director and energy analyst Chris Yelland previously told the Daily Investor that, between illegal “ghost” vending and municipal debt, Eskom loses R45 billion in unpaid electricity costs every year.

Prepayment meter and ghost vending fraud, which involves the illegal creation of prepaid tokens, essentially allows people to use electricity for free, are among Eskom’s biggest problems.

A probe into procurement fraud at Eskom at the start of 2025 found that scores of workers were paid over R180 million in kickbacks from contracts at some power stations.

A typical prepayment meter in a low-income house would normally vend about 500 kWh of electricity per month at about R2.50 per kWh.

Yelland explained that this means Eskom loses R27 billion every year due to counterfeit prepaid electricity tokens.

“This is the scale of the illegal, fraudulent counterfeit electricity token ecosystem out there in the Eskom environment alone. It has been going on for years.”

Notably, Yelland pointed out that this R27 billion number does not include non-payment and theft of electricity from postpaid meters.

For example, in Soweto, an area of direct Eskom supply, more than 80% of the electricity delivered by Eskom is not paid for.

“Prepayment meter and ghost vending fraud are also completely separate from the non-payment of electricity purchased by several NERSA licensed municipal electricity distributors,” he said.

Municipal arrear debt to Eskom is now exceeding R100 billion and increasing at a rate of approximately R1.5 billion per month, or R18 billion annually.

This means that annual municipal debt increases, and ghost vending alone costs Eskom around R45 billion yearly, which the utility needs to make up for somehow.

These losses are passed on to paying customers and taxpayers, either in the form of increased electricity costs or through government bailouts.

How to register

City Power said that the FBE programme is designed to cushion the most vulnerable and ensure access to electricity as a basic human right, while also helping to clean up the billing and compliance environment.

Beneficiaries of this programme will receive free basic electricity and be exempt from paying a R200 monthly surcharge.

In addition, if their meter has been damaged, bypassed, or tampered with, it will be replaced free of charge, and no penalties will be imposed for the time being.

Registered beneficiaries will also be considered for other City of Johannesburg rebates, including indigent support on property rates, water, and refuse removal, easing the overall burden on low-income households.

To qualify, households must meet the City’s indigent policy criteria, which include being unemployed or having a monthly income not exceeding R7,503.01 per month. Applicants must declare all of their incomes.

The qualifying amount to access the ESP changes annually. The criteria also include being a South African citizen or a permanent resident and being the legal occupants of the property in question.

Supporting documentation such as a valid ID, proof of residence, COJ rates and Taxes Account, and income verification, such as a SASSA card or affidavit, will be required at registration.

The beneficiaries include senior citizens, unemployed persons, women and children, child-headed households and persons with disabilities.

“There is now no excuse. If you qualify, register and receive free basic electricity. If you can afford to pay and refuse, we will begin a mass disconnection initiative where we will be removing our meters and other equipment,” Mashava said.

This initiative comes as City Power battles a low revenue collection rate, which the Auditor-General flagged in a recent report.

The rollout of the FBE programme, combined with robust enforcement and customer engagement, forms a key part of City Power’s response to these findings and our drive to stabilise the utility’s finances.

Customers can register:

• At community-based pop-up registration stations, malls, taxi ranks, churches, and SASSA pay points
  Through ward councillor-led door-to-door campaigns and Imbizos
• City Power said it will make registration information and support widely accessible to ensure that no eligible customer is left behind.

City Power’s teams will also be available to engage with our teams at community pop-up stands, taxi ranks, malls, schools, and churches.

This information will be shared during the ongoing imbizos as well. These efforts reflect our commitment to making registration easy, accessible, and available in multiple languages through various platforms – both physical and digital.

“This programme is about equity, accountability, and financial sustainability. With your cooperation, we can ensure no household is unfairly disconnected and no customer abuses the system to the detriment of others,” Mashava added.