- Cape Town residents are struggling with soaring electricity costs, forcing many to implement load shedding due to monthly bills reaching up to R10 000.
- The City of Cape Town has reduced Eskom’s tariff increase from 12.74% to 11.78% while calling for Nersa to reject Eskom’s proposed 44% hike.
As various stakeholders continue challenging Eskom’s proposed 44% electricity tariff increase, Cape Town residents grapple with skyrocketing energy costs straining household budgets. With monthly electricity expenses ranging from R4 000 to R10 000, many resort to load shedding to manage their financial constraints.
On June 30, the City of Cape Town reduced Eskom’s proposed tariff hike from 12.74% to 11.78%. This reduction came after the city invested R4 billion to upgrade its electricity grid and aimed to lessen its dependence on Eskom’s costly power supply. Currently, over 70% of the City’s electricity tariff income is spent purchasing power from Eskom, with the 2024/25 tariff set according to a cost of supply submission to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa).
AfriForum, a civic society organisation, has criticised the recent electricity price increases as “irregular and invalid.” AfriForum’s Morne Mostert called for municipalities to reimburse consumers for overcharged amounts. This follows a Gauteng High Court ruling that Nersa’s decision to process tariff increase applications without the required cost studies was unlawful.
The City of Cape Town has also reported tampering with 12,000 prepaid electricity meters, attributed to soaring energy costs. Residents have been urged to stop illegal connections.
Local pensioner Hajiera Sabera from Brackenfell, living on an R2 180 pension, has been forced to implement load shedding to cope with her electricity costs, which exceed R600 per month. “For R100, I get 26 units, and I can’t afford to use my geyser or heater,” Sabera said, highlighting many pensioners’ dire situation.
Shihaam Brenner from Steenberg reported that her household now spends over R4 000 a month on electricity, a sharp increase since switching to a new prepaid meter. She noted that the number of units received for the same amount of money has decreased.
Strand resident Chemone spends between R1 200 and R1 400 a month on electricity despite minimal home usage, while single-parent Jamie Fernandez is considering load shedding due to a significant increase in her monthly electricity bill from R900 to R1 400.
Natasha Gertse, founder of Electricity Tariffs Must Fall, criticised the link between home valuations and electricity tariffs, which she argues unfairly burdens the working class by pushing them into higher tariff brackets based on property value.
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has appealed to Nersa to reject Eskom’s planned 44% tariff increase, citing its severe economic impact, particularly on low-income families. The City has provided extensive qualifying criteria for Lifeline electricity to protect vulnerable households from previous Eskom increases.
Nersa has responded that it cannot arbitrarily reject Eskom’s application and must follow prescribed processes for assessing tariff increase requests in compliance with the Electricity Regulation Act 2006.