It is important for all South Africans to understand the process of accessing electricity. There are really two ways in which one can legally access electricity. An individual could directly approach Eskom and apply for power supply, or an area could be identified for electrification through the mass electrification programme, in which case residents of that area will be electrified en mass without them having to individually approach Eskom. In both these cases each customer will still have to sign a power supply agreement.

The individual application process is straight forward, hence only mass electrification is describe below:

The process:

Municipalities and the Department of Energy (DoE) provide funding for electrification projects through the Integrated National Electrification Programme (INEP) and Eskom together with the distributing municipalities implement the programme within their licensed areas of supply on behalf of the DoE.

Firstly, an area must be proclaimed as suitable for settlement (and hence in line to receive relevant services, including electricity) before any services can be rendered. Since Eskom does not have the authority to proclaim and prioritise areas for electrification, they have to work very closely with the various departments in the different spheres of government to ensure that the right areas get electrified. There is a need for interaction and integrated planning with municipalities; districts; provinces; DoE; Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA); etc.

This process takes time, but has been making amazing progress. It is one of the most successful aspects of South Africa’s Reconstruction and Development Programme. In 1990, less than one third of South African households had access to electricity. By 2009, 75% of households were connected to the electricity grid (that is a total of 4.9 million households from 1994 to 2009) and government’s target for Universal Access is 100% by 2014.

Many people living in proclaimed areas become impatient while waiting to receive electricity. This is not an excuse to make illegal connections to neighbouring areas. The legal solution is to lobby local municipalities so that they can get these areas on the Priority List and provide information regarding their progress. People waiting for electrification can use alternative power sources, such as bio-fuel stoves and solar power.

It must be noted that Eskom is not allowed to electrify people living in unproclaimed areas. It would be more beneficial for these people to move to proclaimed areas, as they can then receive services such as housing, electricity, water, sanitation, roads, etc (or be placed on the Priority List for service provision), water and sewerage.

Groups thriving on selling illegal tampering services are often active in these illegal settlement areas. They accept payments in exchange for tampering with electricity meters providing illegal connections.

Any such kind of illegal activity has to be stopped immediately – it indirectly pushes back the process of electrifying areas on the Priority List.