ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT AND URBAN POVERTY IN SOUTH-AFRICA

The high levels of inequality which characterize the South African pol itical economy are reflected in its patterns of energy use and consequ ent environmental impacts. In spite of significant overcapacity on the national electricity grid, two-thirds of households do not have acces s to electricity, and rely instead on dirtier and less convenient fuel s, such as coal. As a result, urban air quality is severely degraded, with health guidelines for concentrations of particulate matter freque ntly being exceeded. Adverse effects on residents' health have been ob served. On the whole, the impacts of a national electrification initia tive are likely to be positive, although a complete switch to electric ity may not occur immediately. It is argued that efficiency measures s hould form part of an electrification initiative to ameliorate environ mental costs. Finally, this paper considers some investment implicatio ns of mass electrification and concludes that the electricity supply i ndustry itself has the means to bring about more equitable access to e lectricity services for the urban poor.