--- title: Government’s proposed Free Basic Electricity increase is welcome, but 350 kWh and access for all must be the goal. date: 2026-08-19T09:30:06Z modified: 2026-08-19T09:30:06Z permalink: "https://350.org/press-release/governments-proposed-free-basic-electricity-increase-is-welcome-but-350-kwh-and-access-for-all-must-be-the-goal/" type: press-release status: publish excerpt: "" wpid: 175531715 author: tumi timestamp: 2026-08-19T09:30:06Z tags: [] --- **Johannesburg, South Africa**—350Africa welcomes government’s proposal to increase the Free Basic Electricity (FBE) allocation for low-income households, recognising that the current 50 kWh allocation is outdated and no longer reflects the electricity needs of households today. According to[ reports following the Electricity Minister’s media briefing](https://www.enca.com/news/free-basic-electricity-could-increase-heres-what-govt-proposing?utm_source=chatgpt.com), government is considering increasing the FBE allocation to between 200 and 300 kWh per month. For more than 20 years, the allocation has remained fixed at just 50 kWh per month, despite significant changes in household electricity needs and consumption. 350Africa welcomes this. Government is finally acknowledging what communities have been saying for years: 50 kWh is simply not enough. But 350 kWh and access for all must be the goal. 350Africa has been calling for the FBE allocation to be increased to 350 kWh per household per month.[ Research by the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI),](https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/20250617_affordabilityDIGIsingles.pdf) cited by the Presidential Climate Commission, supports a 350 kWh minimum threshold to meet basic household electricity needs. “We welcome government finally recognising that 50 kWh is inadequate. But the [evidence](https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/20250617_affordabilityDIGIsingles.pdf) points us to 350 kWh. Expanding Free Basic Electricity to 350 kWh is doable. It is ultimately a question of political will and the priorities of our government; our people or corporate profit, **said Ferron Pedro, Senior Energy Campaigner, 350Africa.**” But increasing the allocation is only half the solution. People must also be able to access the electricity to which they are entitled. [Government itself has acknowledged the scale of this failure: around 10 million households are estimated to qualify for Free Basic Electricity, yet only about 2 million are currently receiving it.](https://www.gov.za/news/speeches/president-cyril-ramaphosa-annual-address-national-council-provinces-28-nov-2024) **Ferron says,** “The current system relies heavily on municipalities identifying and registering indigent households, creating barriers for people who may be eligible but are not formally registered. Backyard dwellers, shack dwellers and other low-income households can be excluded because they do not have a formal municipal account or individual electricity connection. Government must establish clear, standardised national eligibility criteria, remove arbitrary municipal barriers and make the application process simple and accessible so that everyone who qualifies can actually receive FBE.” South Africa is facing a deepening energy poverty and affordability crisis. Energy poverty is not simply about having an electricity connection; it is whether people can afford and reliably access enough electricity to cook, keep warm, study, work and live with dignity. Despite 90.2% of households having access to mains electricity,[ an estimated 43–47% or more than 11 million households](https://aidc.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AIDC_2025_Energy-Poverty_web.pdf) remain energy poor because electricity is unaffordable, unreliable or insufficient. This is a profound developmental failure in a country where access to basic energy is essential to tackling poverty and inequality. [Earlier discussions about electricity pricing reform](https://350.org/wp-content/uploads/wp-mfa-exports/press-release/electricity-pricing-reforms-alone-wont-solve-south-africas-affordability-crisis-says-350africa.md) or increasing the FBE allocation alone cannot resolve this crisis unless people can actually afford and access enough electricity to meet their basic needs. 350Africa is calling on government to: - Increase Free Basic Electricity to at least 350 kWh per month for qualifying households, providing enough electricity for basic needs such as cooking, studying, heating water and living with dignity. - National, standardised eligibility criteria so that eligible households, including backyard and shack dwellers, can access FBE. - An end to disconnections that deepen energy poverty, including a moratorium on disconnections while the affordability crisis persists. - Invest in publicly financed renewable energy as the most sustainable way to expand access to affordable electricity, while creating opportunities for clean energy jobs, small businesses, and community cooperatives. The government’s proposed reform therefore represents an important opportunity to address a long-standing failure, but it must be ambitious enough to make a material difference in people’s lives. As South Africa approaches the 2026 local government elections, electricity affordability and access will be a defining issue for millions of households. People need more than policy reform on paper. They need enough affordable electricity to live with dignity. **ENDS\*\*\*** --- **For media enquiries, contact:** **Boitumelo Masipa** Digital & Communications Specialist [350.org](http://350.org) +27 81 452 9096