Lived Experiences of the Energy Consumers of Selected Sites in Disadvantaged Communities in Bloemfontein, South Africa

The purpose of this chapter is to show the pattern of use and the typologies of energy sources relied on by settlement dwellers of selected communities in Bloemfontein. The chapter explores the coping strategies used by settlement dwellers in areas with low-income households that have difficulties of accessing energy in light of loadshedding in Bloemfontein. The chapter uses the lens of Sustainable Development Goals 7 and 12 to explore low-income energy consumers of settlements in Bloemfontein. The study engaged key informant interviews, focus group discussions, observations and a survey involving some 160 respondents randomly selected in the Phomolong, Bochabela, Phase 2, and Turflaagte informal neighbourhoods. The major issues emanating from the ground is that most households depend on unclean energy sources like paraffin, wood, and petroleum gas. The households argue that the cost of these unclean energy sources continue to escalate despite government regulation on the commodities and limited access to healthcare facilities. The reason is the involvement of middlemen who buy the commodity at a very low cost and then sell it at an exorbitant level to them. Another observation is the wide presence of gadgets (like satellite television sets) within the informal settlement; this fashionable trend is the emulation by the low-income earners living like the affluent people. Generally, livelihoods strategies in informal settlements revolve around the commoditization of electricity and related products as people seek to charge their cell phones, among other gadgets. The successful attainment of Sustainable Development Goals is challenged mainly by the marginalisation and powerlessness of informal settlement dwellers.