How much do you pay per unit for electricity

How much do you pay per Kw/h for electricity?

  • Less than R2.50

    Votes: 8 5.3%

  • R2.50 - R3.00

    Votes: 32 21.3%

  • R3.01 - R3.55

    Votes: 55 36.7%

  • R3.56 - R4.00

    Votes: 22 14.7%

  • R4.01 - R4.55

    Votes: 19 12.7%

  • More than R4.55

    Votes: 14 9.3%
  • Total voters
    150
Lupus said:
You are paying the proper rate, but you're also paying the connection and network fee that is being split between your units. R3.88 isn't far off the R3.03 from City Power for the first 350 units and it goes up to about R4 for every unit after 500.
Click to expand...
That approach isn't legal... Just so you know! But this is SA, so most don't follow the law!

The only legal way for resellers is to charge as if they are directly connected and then manage the fixed costs (which are normally less so there is margin rather than loss here), with levies etc if required.
Normally there is margin for a properly managed site...
Simplified example - being on a commercial tariff with R5000 fixed fee and R3/kWh* vs. each apartmrnt being on R300/month and R4/kWh...
If there's 10 units on site that's going to be difficult, if there's 100, then it's easy money!

* in reality commercial tariffs are more complex with Time of Use and High and Low season and Kva charges etc +-- which being standard grade maths, means for most managing agents it's waaaay above their abilities to manage.
 
Lupus said:
You are paying the proper rate, but you're also paying the connection and network fee that is being split between your units. R3.88 isn't far off the R3.03 from City Power for the first 350 units and it goes up to about R4 for every unit after 500.
Click to expand...
Its a bit lower actually. My coworker stays in a complex and his service and capacity charge are billed separately and not part of his units. He payd 3.5 per kwh even though citipower says 2.66.

Screenshot 2025-10-01 084756.png
 
maumau said:
You might be correct, I think it's outsourced.
Click to expand...
Yup probably the same contract with the same company that the developer signed up with when it was first built... And it's too complicated for anyone to grapple with since!
 
richjdavies said:
That approach isn't legal... Just so you know! But this is SA, so most don't follow the law!

The only legal way for resellers is to charge as if they are directly connected and then manage the fixed costs (which are normally less so there is margin rather than loss here), with levies etc if required.
Normally there is margin for a properly managed site...
Simplified example - being on a commercial tariff with R5000 fixed fee and R3/kWh* vs. each apartmrnt being on R300/month and R4/kWh...
If there's 10 units on site that's going to be difficult, if there's 100, then it's easy money!

* in reality commercial tariffs are more complex with Time of Use and High and Low season and Kva charges etc +-- which being standard grade maths, means for most managing agents it's waaaay above their abilities to manage.
Click to expand...
How is it not legal? The complex gets a bulk bill from City Power, which is X + the connection and service fee. Generally the rate is higher cause it's a bulk rate, generally they'll divide the bulk amount by the amount of units to get a fixed fee to work with. Then they'll look at the individual units usage and apply the fixed fee derived from the bulk charge from CP to get the total payment.
 
denmendez65 said:
Its a bit lower actually. My coworker stays in a complex and his service and capacity charge are billed separately and not part of his units. He payd 3.5 per kwh even though citipower says 2.66.

View attachment 1852295
Click to expand...
Exactly, people tend to forget in complexes it's either a third party (prepaid 99% of the time) or if it's postpaid it will be bulk bill from CP split across the units in the complex.
 
Lupus said:
You are paying the proper rate, but you're also paying the connection and network fee that is being split between your units. R3.88 isn't far off the R3.03 from City Power for the first 350 units and it goes up to about R4 for every unit after 500.
Click to expand...

Thanks Lup, that could be the case. Luckily I'm still under 500 units.
 
maumau said:
Thanks Lup, that could be the case. Luckily I'm still under 500 units.
Click to expand...
Sure, the next 150 from 350 is about R3.50 so yeah it really doesn't look like you're getting that much more.
I've seen a lot of places where it's hitting almost R6 a unit :-(
 
Lupus said:
Sure, the next 150 from 350 is about R3.50 so yeah it really doesn't look like you're getting that much more.
I've seen a lot of places where it's hitting almost R6 a unit :-(
Click to expand...

R6!!!!!! That's ridiculous. At least we live in a warm country with short winters, would hate to use heating for longer than a couple of months.
 
maumau said:
R6!!!!!! That's ridiculous. At least we live in a warm country with short winters, would hate to use heating for longer than a couple of months.
Click to expand...
It is indeed :-( just warming a geyser would cost R50 a day :-(.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X