Energy, environment and urban poverty in South Africa

The energy policies of the government of South Africa have in the past been focused on ensuring energy security in light of the oil embargo of the United Nations because of the country's apartheid structure. Investments have been made in synthetic fuel plants and massive coal-fired electricity generators. Little priority has been given to energy effiency or to extending energy access to the mass of the population. The national electric utility, Eskom, estimates some two-thirds of the country's population do not have access to electricity. The South African energy policies have also taken an environmental toll, with air quality severely affected especially in the South Transvaal region of Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging. About 80% of the primary energy use in South Africa comes from coal. It is anticipated that political changes in the country will be accompanied by more emphasis on inreasing equality of access to a number of basic services, including energy.