ABSTRACT
As part of its election manifesto in 2000, the national office of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) promised free basic services to all poor South Africans. This was later quantified as 6 000 litres of water and 50 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of monthly electricity per household for qualifying households. At the time, this package represented a monetary benefit of R30–R35 per household per month. With respect to free electricity, the state claimed that electrification was seen as ‘a significant step towards realizing the basic rights and improving the quality of life of South Africans’ (DoF 2004: 143). The ‘free basic electricity’ of 50 kWh per household per month, delivered in terms of the Free Basic Electricity (FBE) Programme which gave expression to the ANC’s election commitment, was deemed ‘sufficient energy to provide basic services for a poor household’ (‘household’ was defined as a ‘residential premises customer with an official point of supply, metered on a domestic tariff’) (DME 2003a: 5). 1
