Nasty electricity price shock for Joburg residents
The City of Johannesburg has implemented its new electricity tariffs for the 2019/2020 period, which include a major change to prepaid electricity pricing.
The schedule of approval electricity tariffs for the new period shows that prepaid electricity users will be required to pay a R200 surcharge each month from 1 July 2019.
This amount must be paid in addition to standard usage block electricity rates, which have increased across the board.
The overall electricity tariff increased by 13.07% compared to the previous period, but prepaid electricity users could see drastic increases of up to 60% in their monthly electricity bills.
Below are the new rates for residential prepaid electricity, not including the added R200 surcharge:
| 2018/19 block | Tariff | 2019/20 block | Tariff | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-500kWh | 124.49 | 0-350kWh | 139.42 | +12.0% |
| – | – | 350-500kWh | 159.92 | +28.5% |
| 500-100 kWh | 141.43 | 500+ kWh | 182.23 | +28.8% |
Residential users with a consumption above 500kWh are subject to a network surcharge of 6c/kWh, although properties valued under R350,000 are exempt from any surcharge – including the R200 surcharge applied to prepaid users.
Similar surcharges have been implemented in other major South African cities and are either charged separately (as in the case of Tshwane) or bundled into the electricity price (as in the case of eThekwini).
The full list of approved electricity tariffs for the 2019/2020 period can be viewed on the City Power website.
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