While Eskom's success in ending load shedding is a crucial triumph of the Ramaphosa era, many people are now living without electricity for much of the time because they simply cannot afford it. A new billing system is supposed to change all of this. Expect a big fight.

Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, ever alive to the public importance of resolving our electricity crises, has been very aware of the tariff crisis for some time. Almost immediately after load shedding ended he pointed out that there was no point having electricity if you could not pay for it.

At the same time the seemingly endless struggle persists between councils and Eskom on one side, and residents on the other, over the payment of bills.

Now Ramokgopa has published proposals that he says will make major changes.

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In an interview on Newzroom Afrika this week he explained the bare bones of the proposed system.

First, and crucially, it will be much more transparent.

Instead of just receiving a bill from your local council that tells you how much power you used and when you used it, you will be told what made up the cost of the electricity you used.

He says this means your bill will show the cost of transmission, the cost of distribution and then a cost to administer all of this.

Presumably, the raw price of electricity - what your council pays Eskom for the power - would be included somewhere too.

Then he says...