Residents who manage their consumption of water and electricity will benefit most from the 7.32 percent tariff increase effective on 1 July.
Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Finance, Geoffrey Makhubo said the municipality’s budget provided for tariff increases, that were on average, lower than the prices determined by the bulk suppliers, Rand Water and Eskom.
“The city is keenly aware of the difficult economic circumstances experienced by households. Families are faced with very real challenges when it comes to disposable income and our tariffs need to respond to these pressures,” he said.
Makhubo said the monthly electricity bill for a household that consumed 350kWh would increase by R17.49 to R252.33.
“This percentage increase gets higher as consumption patterns grow. Consumers of 500kWh will see a R68.49 rise in their monthly bills.”
While all households received the first 6 000 litres of water per month free, Makhubo said all households that consumed between 6 000 and 10 000 litres would experience a modest increase of 5.3 percent, which is below the average increase of 9.82 percent.
He said decisions on tariffs were made following a citywide consultation processes.
This year the city council responded to the submissions made by residents and stakeholders and some of the original proposed increases were lowered.
“The size of the new increases grows larger as water consumption patterns escalate. Those consuming up to 20kl per month will pay 11.82 percent more and the households using more than 40kl will see a 12.82 percent increase in their bills,” he added.
Makhubo encouraged consumers to seek information from the municipality and Eskom on how to lower consumption.
