Abstract
Energy primarily drives our lives and improves the quality of life for everyone, from home, workplace, and school. It is of paramount importance for everyone to have access to an uninterrupted energy supply, especially in households. However, load-shedding (planned and unplanned power cuts) has become a major issue in households. Both low- and high-income households in Johannesburg, South Africa, heavily rely on grid electricity.
This study examines the impacts of load-shedding on energy poverty and households’ energy choices, practices, and patterns in both low- and high-income areas of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. The study is based in four areas of Johannesburg: Ivory Park (low-income area), Randpark Ridge, Northcliff, and Emmarentia (high-income areas). The researcher primarily used an online survey to collect data from the participants, and actual observations of the energy-use practices and their effects on the households were also made. A total of 211 samples were collected, and only 194 were usable, of which 70 were from low-income households and 124 were from high-income households.
The results from the survey show that there are more frequent power cuts in low-income areas than in high-income areas. The impacts of power cuts in high-income areas are not as severe as in low-income areas, due to high-income households’ financial capability to invest in clean, efficient, and modern energy sources. The inability to access modern and clean energy carriers in low-income households has influenced them to expand their energy basket, which is relatively larger than that of high-income households. Low-income households also often revert to using dirty fuels when grid electricity is unavailable.
In comparison, high-income households have smaller, less diverse energy baskets and mostly use cleaner energy sources. Low-income households are more susceptible to energy poverty and health, safety, and environmental problems than high-income households due to their energy use practices. Load-shedding has been shown here to further exacerbate the energy inequality in South African society. A thorough investigation of the obstacles to providing clean and renewable energy and uninterrupted electricity by the electricity and energy sector is highly recommended.