R200 City Power tariff is being reviewed
Finance MMC Dada Morero said in council that they had heard cries from communities and civil society following the announcement of City Powers additional charge for prepaid customers.
Following the announcement by City Power that prepaid meter users will be charged a monthly fee of R200 (R230 after VAT) per month, there has been an outcry of people criticising the move.
Emmarentia resident Julia Fish, manager of JoburgCAN, which is an initiative of Outa says, “While the city may have the executive powers to apply service charges, this R200 fixed service charge on prepaid was poorly publicised, badly implemented and pushed through with little to no consideration of the consequences.
Read more: Residents comment on tariff increases
“Despite multiple requests for information on the number of households on the city’s indigent register and therefore exempt from the fee, the City has not responded. In reality, the service charge will result in an above 100% increase in electricity costs for low-consumption households while tokens do not include vital information such as how much money was allocated to the charge, to VAT and to actual electricity units. The lack of transparency does not meet mandatory regulation compliance,” says Fish.
DA caucus leader councillor Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku questions the comments made by Finance MMC Dada Morero who announced a review of the tariffs. “This is in direct contradiction with the mayor’s stance on this very same issue. His view was, and I quote, ‘The surcharge is here to stay’.
Also read: Increased city tariffs across the board stretch residents budgets to breaking point
He says the executive brings to council a commitment, ‘to relook and review this availability charge’.
“The mayoral committee has noted concerns coming from communities and civil society on the availability charge. We are willing to enter into a process to look into the charge and its impact on residents and undergo a process to review this amount,” said Morero.
Ward 88 councillor Nicolene Jonker asks in questions tabled at Council, “How has the city budgeted to allocate and spend the revenue generated from this charge on improving the electricity infrastructure? Or is this amount absorbed into the general budget without a specified allocation? If a detailed breakdown is not provided, please outline the key categories or projects for which this revenue is intended.”
Isaac Mangena, spokesperson for City Power said in response to questions, “The R200 service charge came into effect on July 1, for prepaid customers which will be deducted from units they purchase. This is still in place as we have had no communication that this has been revoked. If there is any decision to revoke this it will need to go through council who will decide on that. But as things stand, the fee is still going to be charged to prepaid customers.”
Julius Kleynhans, the executive manager for Local Government at Outa, says, “Outa believes this charge will have significant financial repercussions on our communities, especially those who are most vulnerable. It must be scrapped.”
Related article: 11.3% increase to your municipal bill if proposed tariff increases pass
