South Africans with solar power could pay more for electricity

Daniel Puchert

Daniel Puchert

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Electricity price warning for South Africans with solar power

Eskom and Nersa's proposed electricity pricing reforms in South Africa could see many households and businesses with solar power pay substantially more for electricity.

In a recent interview with the Business Times, Eskom chief financial officer Calib Cassim said that the utility wanted an electricity price restructuring that considers its unbundling into three separate entities.
 
For example, Eskom’s Homepower 4, the most common direct residential tariff, would see its fixed tariff increase from R218 to R938.
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F-Off, the infrastructure per home has long since been paid off by most older homes, but once again instead of fixing the reason most people want solar (steep electricity prices and Loadshedding) they try to scrape us for more cash.

If they want to increase it by that much they should offer the ability to completely disconnect from eskom as well, and not pay for existing infrastructure, unless this is allready a thing.
 
Sounds like an incentive to install more capacity, previous employer put 77Kw on the roof and wants to disconnect but the powers that be, are dragging their feet not wanting to wave goodbye to R20k in fixed charges. They want every bolt, nut and mm of installed copper accounted for and keep changing the document requirements, for months. It's comical.
 
Lupus said:
Please note this is Eskom themselves, not the muncipalities, a lot of the muncipalities already charge capacity and service fees. So before anyone jumps up and down, it's for Eskom direct customers.
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Yup,75% of my electricity cost is Fees and Taxes :laugh:
 
As a municipality customer, would one be able to get the connection fee of from the municipal bill and tell them I don't want to pay their R1000 grid connection fee?
 
Lupus said:
Please note this is Eskom themselves, not the muncipalities, a lot of the muncipalities already charge capacity and service fees. So before anyone jumps up and down, it's for Eskom direct customers.
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|"If Nersa aligned its pricing methodology with Eskom’s proposals, it would influence fixed tariff determinations for all authorities that buy electricity from Eskom — including municipalities."
 
skusku said:
|"If Nersa aligned its pricing methodology with Eskom’s proposals, it would influence fixed tariff determinations for all authorities that buy electricity from Eskom — including municipalities."
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We've been over this in the past, no it doesn't, this is for their own tariff structure, not the ones they supply to muncipalities.
 
skusku said:
As a municipality customer, would one be able to get the connection fee of from the municipal bill and tell them I don't want to pay their R1000 grid connection fee?
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Well in JHB there already is a R1000 connection fee
 
Lupus said:
We've been over this in the past, no it doesn't, this is for their own tariff structure, not the ones they supply to muncipalities.
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Well then MyBB shouldnt post incorrect data. And you might have been over this in the past, but I haven't
 
skusku said:
Well then MyBB shouldnt post incorrect data. And you might have been over this in the past, but I haven't
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It's in the article, unless you just read headlines
 
Lupus said:
Please note this is Eskom themselves, not the muncipalities, a lot of the muncipalities already charge capacity and service fees. So before anyone jumps up and down, it's for Eskom direct customers.
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Feels to me we should be jumping up and down regardless. This is supposed to be in preparation for Eskom's split into generation and distribution. It should be a zero sum change, with a connection fee going towards the distribution company and now, because the generation company no longer carries the cost of distribution maintenance, a subsequent decrease in per unit costs to offset the grid connection fee for the average user.

Instead it's just another warrantless, and largely unavoidable, price increase.

I'm on Eskom direct and I don't currently pay a connection fee. Which makes sense when it's all one entity. They bake the costs of the distribution network into the price of the electricity units based on an average of how many they sell per month. I also understand the need to introduce a connection fee once Eskom splits. Just do it so I end up paying a similar amount each month though.
 
porchrat said:
Feels to me we should be jumping up and down regardless. This is supposed to be in preparation for Eskom's split into generation and distribution. It should be a zero sum change, with a connection fee going towards the distribution company and now, because the generation company no longer carries the cost of distribution maintenance, a subsequent decrease in per unit costs to offset the grid connection fee for the average user.

Instead it's just another price increase warrantless, and largely unavoidable, price increase.

I'm on Eskom direct and I don't currently pay a connection fee. Which makes sense when it's all one entity. They bake the costs of the distribution network into the price of the electricity units based on an average of how many they sell per month. I also understand the need to introduce a connection fee once Eskom splits. Just do it so I end up paying a similar amount each month though.
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Well the users of Eskom can try jump up and down, it'll work as well as people jumping up and down with the muncipalities, it will just go ahead if Nersa approves it.
 
Lupus said:
Well the users of Eskom can try jump up and down, it'll work as well as people jumping up and down with the muncipalities, it will just go ahead if Nersa approves it.
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it's likely going to impact municipalities in some form as well. Eskom is going to have to split billing to municipalities between generation costs and distribution costs to get that electricity into the municipality's grid. You can be sure they're going to pull the same attempt to sneak a price increase in.
 
porchrat said:
it's likely going to impact municipalities in some form as well. Eskom is going to have to split billing to municipalities between generation costs and distribution costs to get that electricity into the municipality's grid. You can be sure they're going to pull the same attempt to sneak a price increase in.
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Yeah but this is currently for their own users, hence why it mentions home users + home flex, the deals they have with the muncipalities is different, hence why each muncipality charges different rates + connection fees and and.
 
Lupus said:
Please note this is Eskom themselves, not the muncipalities, a lot of the muncipalities already charge capacity and service fees. So before anyone jumps up and down, it's for Eskom direct customers.
Click to expand...
will have to see what they offer for those of us on prepaid with solar till then lol I'm still on their bad payer list
 
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