Approximately 300 Soweto residents marched on Eskom’s head offices at Megawatt Park on Wednesday, demanding a fixed monthly electricity charge of R350 for low-income households and an immediate halt to the rollout of smart prepaid meters.
The protest follows the national energy regulator’s approval of a nearly 9% tariff increase for the upcoming financial year, which residents say has made electricity unaffordable. Demonstrators handed over a memorandum of demands to Eskom leadership, expressing frustration that current prepaid meter systems often leave homes without power before month’s end.
Eskom has rejected the proposal for a flat-rate pricing model, stating it is not financially sustainable.
One elderly resident, speaking directly to Eskom’s leadership during the protest, described her struggles with the current prepaid system. She revealed she had spent R350 on electricity in just two weeks, despite also using a gas heater and gas stove.
“I’ve got a prepaid and I’m a pensioner and I stay alone. Five units is R20, 14 units is R50, and 29 units is R100,” she explained, suggesting officials may not understand how the system affects ordinary users.
The same resident issued a stark warning about the toll rising costs are taking on vulnerable residents. “Do you know that oppression to the poor of the poorest?” she asked. “I’m still contemplating it. This situation will press me to a point where I will take an overdose of sleeping tablets and I will never wake up.”
She insisted her words were “not a threat” but “a promise,” adding: “I have nothing to lose. I’m an old woman.”
Community representatives called on Eskom to suspend the installation of smart meters and to consider the needs of households headed by children, pensioners, and the unemployed.
Tensions rose at the scene as police officers intervened during one resident’s address, though community leaders urged officers to respect the protesters’ right to submit grievances peacefully.
“We know the criminal procedure. Do your work,” one protest leader told police. “Nobody is under attack. We are here to submit our grievances. Please respect us. We respect you so much and we respect this uniform.”
Protesters noted that Eskom’s responses to their concerns appeared unchanged from previous engagements. “The same response that you are giving us today is the same response that you gave us at Zola,” one resident reminded company officials.
