Eskom said some of those who qualify are unaware of the benefit.
Eskom in the North West have raised concern that a large number of indigent households do not exercise their
right to Free Basic Electricity (FBE).
In a statement Eskom said this is because those who qualify for FBE are either unaware of the benefit, or they have
not registered with their municipalities.
According to Khaya Mnyandu of Eskom, the North West Operating Unit is working with municipalities to ensure that indigent households receive the free basic electricity allocated by the government.
We encourage customers who qualify for FBE, who have registered with municipalities as indigents, but are not currently collecting their FBE, to collect their tokens from the nearest vending outlet where they buy their electricity.
Mnyandu has encouraged qualifying households who in terms of the government’s policy are the unemployed, low earning, the destitute and the elderly, to approach their municipalities to register as indigents.
Once registered with the municipality, the
customers’ details are sent to Eskom to be loaded on the system where they
get credited with free electricity tokens.
Customers on municipalities’ indigent household registers have the right to collect a minimum 50 kilowatt-hour (kWh) of free basic electricity every month, which can also be higher, depending on the municipality.