Greenfields residents benefit from electrification project
22 August 2025
The City is proud to announce the successful electrification of 58 households in the Greenfields informal settlement in the Helderberg area. The completion of this project marks a step forward in improving the lives of vulnerable residents.
‘The City invested more than R912 000 in the Greenfields infill electrification project, which was completed in July 2025 despite a number of challenges including adverse weather conditions and others. The commitment of the City’s Energy teams, contractors and community partners ensured the project was brought to successful completion.
‘This project holds particular importance as a portion of Greenfields was recently devastated by a fire. Our teams remain in the community to safely reconnect residents who were affected by the blaze. This demonstrates the City’s unwavering commitment to restoring and improving community infrastructure, providing residents with the tools to build a better future for their families. The formal electricity connections will also see residents in this area benefit from the City’s subsidised lifeline tariff, which includes up to 60 free basic electricity units on their prepaid purchases monthly, reducing overall household costs.
‘The City remains committed to its mission of improving lives of residents and to extending essential services to communities in need. We will continue to work to create safer, healthier and more connected living conditions for residents across Cape Town,’ said the Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Alderman Xanthea Limberg.Safe electricity for the community
Access to electricity brings multiple benefits to the Greenfields community. Families are now able to light their homes safely, reducing the reliance on candles and paraffin, which pose significant fire risks. School learners and university students can study in the evenings with proper lighting, while homes can refrigerate food and use essential appliances. Importantly, in addition to the electricity connections, beneficiaries will also receive an allocation of up to 60 units of Free Basic Electricity (FBE) on the City’s subsidised Lifeline Tariff.
The Municipal Finance Management Act determines that public money cannot be used for the enhancing of private property and the City can only assist backyarders and informal settlement dwellers residing on City-owned property and where site conditions allow for this. The City continues to seek ways to invest greater resources in driving electrification projects for backyarders and residents in informal settlements, where feasible and also with Eskom, where applicable. In older, City-supplied informal settlements, almost 100% of settlements have been electrified where it has been feasible to do so.
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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
