City Power implements 12.72% tariff increase
Get ready for an increase in your electricity bills as City Power implements a 12.72% tariff hike from July 1.
City Power has announced that it will implement a 12.72% tariff increase from July 1 as approved by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA).
The average increase is informed by NERSA’s methodology and findings of City Power’s cost of supply study, considering various factors affecting the utility’s operations and customers.
City Power Spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the tariff increase aims to ensure sustainable service delivery while considering current economic conditions and customer impact.
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“City Power reviews its tariff structures and levels annually to determine changes in the price of electricity for its customers. Our approved average tariff increase of 12.72%, does not mean every customer will experience the same increase, as we have started to implement some of the findings of the cost of supply study.
“As a result, some customers will experience a slightly lower tariff increase while an increase to others may be above the 12.72% threshold. For instance, the average increase to a typical indigent customer was limited to 6.21%, as they are the most vulnerable customer category. Therefore, the residential low prepaid customer that consumes 374kWh per month will pay an extra R49.17 for the same 374kWh, increasing the total charge from R791.57 to R840.74,” Mangena said.
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Mangena said the customer will, however, for the first 350kWh per month pay R2.2162/kWh, compared to R2.0967/kWh for the current financial year, which will be R41.83 more per month. The next 24kWh will cost R65.06 which is R7.52 more than what it is costing now.
“The residential prepaid low (indigent) tariff will continue to be based on the inclining block tariff methodology as prescribed by NERSA. The applicable rate charged per kWh increases as actual monthly consumption exceeds the threshold for respective blocks, i.e. the threshold for block 1 is 350kWh, block 2 500kWh and block 3 any monthly usage greater than 500kWh,” Mangena said.
Mangena added that City Power will also introduce a total basic charge of R200 for prepaid customers, which will be recovered upfront before consumption-related charges.
“The indigent prepaid customer will be placed on a tariff that does not attract service and capacity charges, as a measure of cushioning the particular customer category due to its vulnerability. The customer category will, therefore, continue to be subsidised by other customer categories,” Mangena said.
