The rise in the cost of living has left almost half of SA's population resorting to purchasing groceries on credit, while 20 million have gone a year without electricity.Close to 20 million South Africans have sat in the dark because they can not afford to keep the lights on.
“Spending about 12% of income on home energy – this includes electricity, is considered highly burdensome for South Africans. The study’s findings revealed that 41% of South Africans have gone without electricity because of a lack of affordability. While 77% of those who took the survey said they experienced load shedding daily and another 37% said they experience weekly outages.
Of those who took part in the survey 29% said they had no means or plans to raise money for alternative energy like solar or gas. And an additional 17% said they would ask friends and family for assistance.