Eskom, in conjunction with the department of basic education (DBE) and the department of electricity & energy (DEE), has made good on its promise to install solar panels in special schools across the country.
The move comes after the Sunday Times revealed how these schools were receiving huge, erratic electricity bills.
Following the report, the three entities undertook to review the accounts, ensure schools were on the appropriate tariffs and install solar panels.
Eskom said it would broaden the project by including ordinary schools. The first initiative started on November 26, when Eskom handed over rooftop solar systems to five ordinary schools in Orange Farm: Radipabi Primary School, Aha-Thuto Secondary School, Laus Deo Primary School, Moyisela Primary
School and Mphethi Mahlatsi Secondary School. The electricity utility said the programme would continue nationally with support from the DBE, other corporate partners and its customers.
Eskom national spokesperson Daphne Mokwena said that through funding from its foundation, which has dedicated R146m to social programmes for the 2025 financial year, the utility installed “2 × 15kW inverters, 12 × 60kWh batteries and 40 × 620W solar panels” at each school.
Mokwena said the solar installation would result in the schools redirecting their government funds “towards educational resources, maintenance and other essential school needs, further enhancing the teaching and learning environment”.
She said this would “enable Eskom to deliver reliable and sustainable power to schools most affected by electricity interruptions caused by infrastructure theft and vandalism”.
“Orange Farm was identified as a community in urgent need due to the high prevalence of electricity infrastructure damage, which frequently disrupts learning and other essential services. The rooftop solar systems will ensure that the schools remain operational during supply interruptions, allowing teaching and learning to continue uninterrupted.”
On September 7, the Sunday Times published a story on high electricity bills charged to special schools in Limpopo, North West, Free State, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Western Cape and Mpumalanga. The eight-month investigation included a sample of 188 electricity bills from 66 special schools, which showed that many schools’ high electricity bills were forcing them to cut back on essentials such as textbooks, laptops, Braille and other resources for deaf, blind pupils and others with special needs. Laptops are indispensable for deaf pupils, as they are used for recording sign-language videos for lessons and exam answers.
The average monthly charge was R60,000, with some as high as R170,000. The charges did not drop during school holidays, when usage should be minimal.
Eskom later confirmed that one of the primary causes for large bills, even during times of low usage, was high notified maximum demand (NMD) charges. NMD relates to the highest amount of electricity a customer is allowed to draw from the grid at any time without incurring penalties and is measured in kilovolt-amperes (kVa).
Ntokozo Abraham is an economic and data journalist, and Vicky Abraham is an investigative journalist for Diary Series of Deaf People (www.thedeafdiary.com). Adam Oxford is a data journalist and founder of
Area of Effect (areaofeffect.tv).