FREE Basic Electricity for the elderly: What the BIG metros offer

You probably can’t believe that Free Basic Electricity for the elderly has been around for 23 years in South Africa. First provisioned by government back in 2003, the thinking was simple: Electricity is just too expensive for the country’s poorest households, so let’s give them a free monthly slice. However, in the intervening years, Parliament has lost track of how many indigent households actually qualify for the benefit …

FREE BASIC ELECTRICITY FOR THE ELDERLY

Nevertheless, SASSA Old-Age Grant beneficiaries were always meant to be first in the door when it came to Free Basic Electricity. However, indecision and poorly municipal service has left many of them struggling to get in. Eskom told Parliament back in October 2025 that 2.1 million households qualify in its various supply areas. And yet, fewer than 500 000 are actually receiving the benefit.

However, last month (August 2026) at government’s Revised Electricity Pricing Policy consultation, Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa changed that number massively. He now puts national qualifying numbers at 10-million households. Of these, only 2 million are on the books, so one in every five homes.

WHY UPTAKE STAYS LOW

As such, Parliament’s electricity committee heard that illegal connections are part of what keeps the uptake low. Roughly three-quarters of the unregistered – 7.5-million households – are already benefitting from illegal supply. Eskom loses around R30 billion a year to theft and tampering. And risk of coming clean and losing an existing illegal connection keeps many from even entertaining the idea of Free Basic Electricity.

However, what is genuinely good news is that Ramokgopa has proposed lifting the Free Basic Electricity allocation altogether. For the longest time it’s sat within a 50 to 200 kWh band. Raising this has been gazetted, and is available for public comment as we speak. It’s the first serious rethink of the policy since it first launched.

HOW MUCH FREE BASIC ELECTRICITY EACH METRO OFFERS

Here’s what each major metro offers as far as Free Basic Electricity for the elderly is concerned:

• City Power (Johannesburg): 50 kWh free monthly, household income under R7 800, adjusted every November. Renewals valid for 12 months.
• eThekwini (Durban): 65 kWh for free on its Scale 12 tariff, households using under less than 150 kWh a month.
• City of Cape Town: 25 to 60 kWh depending on usage band. Income under R7 500 for any qualifying SASSA Grant recipient. Pensioners must reapply after July 2026’s General Valuation.
• City of Tshwane (Pretoria): 100 kWh free electricity, 12 kl free water, and a full rates rebate for qualifying households, available through the e-Tshwane portal.

IT’S EASY TO APPLY FOR FREE BASIC ELECTRICITY

Simply bring your ID document, meter or account number, proof of income or a SASSA Grant letter to your local municipal office (look this up in your area). You will also need to show three months’ bank statements or an affidavit and proof of residence. Most metros run walk-in offices and sometimes mobile registration points, too.

But what do you think? Is Free Basic Electricity for the elderly something you think government should make even more accessible? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below …