Non-Payment of Electricity by Border Post residents in Amahlathi Local Municipality, Eastern Cape

Abstract

Eskom is a monopolistic electricity power supplier for South Africa as well as supplying neighbouring countries. Despite this advantage, the company is still beset by a heavy debt burden, increasing pressure from growing outstanding customer debt, and operational instability. Eskom, which is not different from other utilities globally, faces financial problems that halt the investment in capacity upgradation, Due to a lack of infrastructure investment, the country has experienced sporadic periods of loadshedding, undermining South Africa's efforts to re-ignite economic growth as the country recovers from the global COVID-19 pandemic. The non-payment of electricity was cited as one of the other reasons that negatively contributed to the financial crisis at the utility, which resulted in minimal investment in capacity upgradation. Furthermore, Eskom has indicated that there is an increase in non-payment of electricity and has continuously urged its consumers to refrain from this illegal act which results in billions of Rand of revenue loss. As a result, six factors were examined to better understand the extent and influence these factors have on non-payment of electricity, using Border Post Location as an area of study. This was accomplished by ranking the factors from most to least significant, whereby the order was as follows:poverty, high electricity prices, unemployment, poor law enforcement, poor quality of supply, and lastly, literacy. Also, the research reveals the ineffectiveness of free basic electricity that was designed to help those households in financial distress not to partake in non-payment of electricity.