Over 57,000 homes in three Gauteng metros received free solar-power systems
Three metropolitan municipalities — Johannesburg‚ Tshwane and Ekurhuleni — have provided taxpayer-funded "free" solar home systems to almost 57‚200 households‚ as this form of energy grows in popularity‚ Statistics SA data show. Across the country‚ there are 22 municipalities providing free solar electricity systems — seen as a safer off-grid energy source than paraffin and candles — to the poor. This equates to about 113‚200 households (3.2% of the 3.5-million indigent households nationwide) that benefited from this service. "It comes as no surprise that this percentage has gone up‚ from 2.8% in 2016. The country basks in sunshine throughout the year …‚" the Statistics SA report noted. Of SA’s 213 local and metropolitan municipalities‚ a total of 49 (which includes those providing solar systems) indicated that they were servicing indigent households with at least one form of off-grid energy source. These are households that are located in an area that doesn’t have access to the pow...
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