South Africa’s Energy Landscape Amidst the Crisis: Unpacking Energy Sources and Drivers with 2022 South African Census Data

This paper examines patterns and drivers of energy choices for cooking and lighting in South Africa using the Statistics South Africa Census data at the district municipality (districts) level. Employing spatial and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis, the findings show that electricity is the main source of energy for cooking across South Africa. However, there is a large swathe of the country covering districts such as Vhembe and Mopani in Limpopo, eastern Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, and northern Eastern Cape provinces where wood is the predominantly used energy type for cooking. There is almost uniform use of gas for cooking across the country. Electricity is the main energy source for lighting in South Africa. It is followed by candles, likely explained by loadshedding, and, surprisingly, solar energy a distant third. In terms of drivers, dwelling types play a statistically significant role in what energy type to use for cooking and lighting, albeit differently. In terms of lighting, formal dwelling is positively related to the choice of electricity and informal dwelling is related to the choice of electricity (negatively) and candles (positively) for lighting. The level of higher education, household size, and the dependency ratio have varied statistically significant roles in the choice of either energy type for cooking or lighting by formal, informal, and traditional dwellers. Relevant policy prescriptions that are needed to engender the country towards sustainable energy use, diversification of energy types from electricity produced from fossil fuels to other renewable energy sources such as solar, and reduction in over-dependency on the biomass energy sources such as paraffin and wood, especially in rural and poor districts, are proposed.