Cape Town residents can expect to pay, on average, 11 percent more for domestic electricity from July, the city said on Wednesday.
The increases would depend on whether the resident fell under the domestic tariff profile or the lifeline tariff profile.
To qualify for lifeline tariffs, households would have to use less than 450 kilowatt hours (kWh) a month.
The household would then get 50kWh of its first 150kWh a month free of charge.
Under both tariff plans, power prices became steeper as electricity use increased.
“Simply put, the price per kWh increases with each successive block. The more you receive the more you pay, and the higher your average cent per kWh becomes. It is therefore wise to save electricity because lower consumption means lower tariffs.”
Those who bought prepaid electricity vouchers were advised to buy no more than the amount of electricity they anticipated to use, as excess electricity would be charged at a higher rate.
The city said it was a common misconception that if a customer moved into a higher rate “block” they would have to buy all their power at the higher rate.
Only the electricity used in the higher block would be charged at that rate.
Residents who fell under the Eskom distribution areas, for example parts of Table View, Durbanville, and Khayelitsha, would not be affected by the increase. - Sapa