As South Africans continue to grapple with the rising cost of living, electricity prices remain one of the biggest financial burdens on households and businesses. With repeated tariff increases placing added pressure on consumers, calls are growing for reforms to make electricity more affordable and strengthen the country’s energy security.
Against this backdrop, Free South Africa has launched its “Cut the Cost of Living” campaign, urging the public to support proposed policy and regulatory changes that it says will reduce electricity prices while ensuring a more reliable power supply.
Speaking to VOC News, Free South Africa spokesperson Gideon Joubert said the campaign seeks to raise awareness about the impact of rising energy costs and give South Africans a platform to advocate for change.
“I think the objective here is simply to, firstly, make people aware, as if the rising prices aren’t doing that already, about the rising cost of living attached to energy prices specifically. This includes the fuel price, but one of the key issues is rising electricity prices,” Joubert said.
“Secondly, it’s to give people an opportunity to have input and begin facilitating change to the legislative, regulatory and policy environment that is actually driving this situation.”
Joubert argued that a lack of competition in the electricity market, ongoing policy uncertainty and a complex regulatory environment are among the biggest obstacles to lowering electricity prices.
“One of the major problems is the lack of competition with Eskom, meaning we do not have a variety of electricity providers able to sell directly to the public. Coupled with that is policy uncertainty and a very complex regulatory environment, which discourages greater participation in the energy sector,” he said.
He believes addressing these challenges would encourage competition, attract investment and ultimately help reduce electricity costs for consumers.
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