Cape Town - As municipalities, political parties, energy activists and watchdogs continue to call for the rejection of Eskom’s planned 44% tariff hike, South Africans say they are being forced to implement load shedding in their homes because they are spending between R4 000 and R10 000 a month as electricity prices rocket.
This week, spoke to many Western Cape residents about how their pockets and households were being affected by the continuous rise in electricity tariffs.
On June 30, the City of Cape Town said it was able to reduce Eskom’s increase from a 12.74% increase to 11.78%.
It said it funded R4 billion in electricity grid upgrades and planned to end its exclusive reliance on expensive Eskom power as soon as possible.
The City said it spent more than 70% of its electricity tariff income to buy electricity from Eskom, with the City’s 2024/25 tariff based on a cost of supply submission to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa).
Civic society organisation AfriForum said the electricity price increases that consumers across the country were made to pay for almost two months were “irregular and invalid”.
“This means that municipalities must reimburse the consumers for the amount that was overcharged,” said AfriForum’s Morne Mostert.
He made the comments after the Gauteng High Court this week dismissed an application by Nersa and the South African Local Government Association for leave to appeal against its previous judgment that Nersa’s decision to consider municipalities’ applications for electricity tariff increases without the required cost studies had been unlawful and invalid.
The City said it had noted that 12 000 prepaid electricity meters had been tampered with, which was largely due to the soaring energy costs. It urged residents to discontinue illegal connections.
Pensioner Hajiera Sabera, who lives in Brackenfell and owns a Nutec house, said she had been forced to implement “load shedding” as she struggled to survive on her R2 180 pension and spent more than R600 a month on electricity.
Her budget did not allow her to use her geyser, put on the heater to keep warm or make toast.
“For R100, I get 26 units and I cannot afford electricity if my geyser is on,” she said.
“This is the sad way that we, pensioners, must live. We must implement load shedding in our homes just to make ends meet.
“During winter I could not use my heater or my stove as often for cooking.”
Another resident, Shihaam Brenner from Steenberg, said her household spent more than R4 000 a month on electricity. “On the 20th, we were already on R4 000.
“We were always on the old system and we never paid so much before. We have had the new prepaid electricity meter box for seven months and now the bill is R4 000, excluding water and rates.
“We purchase electricity at R1 000 a week and for the first time we receive 242 units. It is becoming less as the weeks go by. For example, this week we received 211 units for R1 000.”
Strand resident Chemone spends between R1 200 and a month on electricity.
“My partner and I live in a two-bedroom flat and we are employed. I run a small business and I am hardly at home during the day,” she said.
“We usually unplug all our appliances. We do not boil the kettle with more than one litre of water in it.”
Single parent Jamie Fernandez said she was considering implementing load shedding in her home.
“In June, I spent about R900 a month and now since the increase, I spend R1 400 a month.”
Natasha Gertse, the founder of the organisation Electricity Tariffs Must Fall, which was launched in 2015, said a home’s evaluation impacted tariffs if one owned property worth more than R500 000.
“We have a problem with the home value affecting the tariffs. It is making it very hard for the working class,” she said.
“They are attaching the home value to your electricity and if your home value is above R500 000, you automatically go onto the highest tariff which is the domestic tariff.
“If you are using your electricity sparingly. it doesn’t matter because in 2022, the home valuation went up.
“My home value jumped from over R200 000 to R500 000. The only reason for that jump was to get me to be removed from the lifeline tariff and the indigent grant and switch me over to the highest tariff.
“The only reason for this attachment value is to get people onto the highest tariff.”
Earlier this week, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis wrote to Nersa, calling for the rejection of Eskom’s planned 44% tariff hike.
Eskom has yet to submit its application, but early consultations have revealed it intention to ask Nersa for a 44% hike for electricity sales to municipalities and a 36% hike for direct Eskom customers.
“The economic impact, and also the impact on especially lower income families, will be immense with the cost of living already so high,” said Mayor Hill-Lewis.
He said that to shield lower income households from Eskom increases in recent years, the City had been offering SA’s widest qualifying criteria for Lifeline electricity, including: a property value qualifying threshold of R500 000, a monthly household income threshold of R7 500 (if the property value was greater than R500 00), Pensioner and grant recipient criteria for monthly incomes lower than a monthly R22 500 income, regardless of property value.
In a response to IOL questions this week, Nersa said it could not hold Eskom to ransom over its application process.
“The energy regulator is obliged by the Electricity Regulation Act of 2006 to properly consider applications put before it in terms of the laws, policies, regulations, rules and methodologies governing the electricity sector and can, therefor,e not simply reject Eskom’s application,” Nersa said.
“The application will be accordingly processed following all prescribed processes, which will include assessment by the energy regulator for regulatory compliance before processing and then accordingly processed in terms of the prescripts of National Energy Regulator Act if it is considered to be compliant.”
Alexander Panzek, an energy activist and watchdog from the Hessequa Active Citizenry group, has penned a letter to Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientso Ramokgopa and Deputy Electricity Minister Samantha Graham-Mare.
He shared the letter with Weekend Argus when approached about the high tariffs.
“The runaway costs associated with prepaid electricity and municipalities inflating prepaid electricity by charging exorbitant surcharges,” the letter said.
“It is a blatant shame that municipalities are unfairly and unashamedly ripping off prepaid household consumers.
“As a result, the cost of electricity tariff by kWh (unit) has ballooned so excessively that households can no longer afford it.
“Over the past couple of years, municipalities have been artificially hiking electricity tariff rates to unreasonable levels, by adding exorbitant amp surcharges to our electricity including hiking these surcharges by between 12% to 18% every year. “
This is in addition to the hiking of our municipal electricity consumption percentage, usually between 12% to 18% too, approved by Nersa.
“2024 was the first year our surcharges were hiked by (only) 4% after the outcry and objections from the public.”
The National Association of Social Housing (Nasho) has urged the government to consider alternatives for the social housing sector .
“Tenants and social housing developers need to be protected from the impending electricity price increase as they will not be able to absorb the cost,” Nasho general manager Karabelo Pooe said.
“Currently, social housing tenants are not cushioned from the high cost of municipal services, including the exorbitant price of electricity in any way.
“This is despite the fact that around 35 to 40% of social housing tenants earn below R6 700 per month, and, therefore, should qualify as indigent.“