ESKOM ENCOURAGES INDIGENT HOUSEHOLDS TO CLAIM FREE BASIC ELECTRICITY

 Free Basic Electricity (FBE) – a longstanding government initiative implemented by Eskom and municipalities – is available to indigent households and aims to improve their quality of life.  It is unfortunate that many qualifying households are either unaware of this benefit or are uncertain about the process to collect it.  Eskom urges customers not to let this relief go to waste as it can positively impact their daily lives.

FBE is the electricity allocated to support low-income households.  It is the amount of electricity considered enough to run basic lighting, basic media access, basic ironing and boil water using an electrical kettle.

Indigent households are identified by local municipalities. The municipalities include these households in a list of FBE beneficiaries (qualifying people) and submit the list to Eskom, enabling the beneficiaries to collect their FBE vouchers on a monthly basis from Eskom vending outlets.  The maximum amount is between 50kWh and 60kWh per household, depending on the municipality of residence.  The customer is then charged for anything used above this limit.  Only one FBE voucher is accepted by the meter during a specific month.

We urge all customers who have been advised by their respective municipalities that they do qualify for the FBE benefit to make use of it.  To claim the benefit, customers should visit their nearest vendor.  Alternatively, USSD codes *130*869# or *130*269# are available to already configured customers to claim the benefit via a cell phone at no charge to the customer.

Eskom supplied customers who wish to ascertain whether they qualify for the FBE benefit should do so by contacting their local municipal office, local ward councillor or a Community Development Worker.