This chapter provides an overview of energy poverty in South Africa through a sample of electrified low-income households in one municipality located in the heart of the country's coal region. Despite democracy and the many policies in place to redress the injustices of the Apartheid regime, the country continues to have extremely high levels of poverty, energy poverty, inequality, and unemployment.

Even though 87% of the population has access to electricity connections, most households cannot afford to use sufficient electricity to meet their basic energy needs, and almost half of all households are considered energy poor. The challenge is not just about access to electricity but also about affordability. Many of the policies currently in place to alleviate energy poverty and poverty have not yielded the results hoped for. This is understood within the framework of an energy-intensive political economy that has been built around coal and coal fired electricity production.@en

Many in the Global South and some in the Global North cannot afford clean and sustainable energy, and many live in a state of energy poverty. A just energy transition is a chance for economies to start again with a clean slate and do things differently. In the Global South, where many cities are growing and where generation is inadequate, the opportunities abound. This policy brief argues that energy poverty and access must be brought boldly into the Just Transition debate. Only then is change possible. The brief offers an overview of current understanding of what constitutes a just energy transition and what is meant by energy poverty and access by giving a snapshot of the European Union and Sub-Saharan Africa context. The brief concludes with outlining some of the policy gaps.@en