Using public data supplied by NERSA I put the spreadsheet through the AI mill for a summary of the tariffs – ONLY for Domestic Credit (Conventional) meters on the highest scale.
From that we developed:
- A table comparing the domestic electricity prices for all the major metropolitan municipalities in South Africa
- A summary of the 10 highest domestic tariffs per unit
- A summary of the 10 lowest domestic tariffs per unit
Frankly – this exercise highlighted one worrying concern: The number and style of the thousands of tariffs offered do not make for confidence in the pricing of electricity. The many different tariffs present an opportunity for wholescale corruption and fraud. I wonder if any of the municipalities have strong audit mechanisms in place to ensure that, for example, a Credit meter does not have an incorrect classification applied to it as an ATTP meter or a commercial meter being classified as a domestic? And, are these audits applied on a regular (more than annual) basis?
The Danger of ‘Cherry-picking’:
One of the first lessons we learn in stats is that they are not to be trusted – you can find a statistic to support your position (especially if you are a politician). This then is the reason why we as a country need to move to a more definitive and standardised way of classifying the price for electricity per unit.
For example – Cape Town will be very aggrieved to find themselves being fingered as the highest price provider in the country and will be quick to get hold of me to challenge my numbers by citing some other tariff that is lower than others in the country.
But, what we are all missing is that we cannot really compare numbers individually – even when I have chosen to highlight the highest charge per charge for the domestic post paid consumers as the IBT levels are NOT aligned. So, beware of making quick assumptions about which municipality is the cheapest or most expensive overall.
Well, you could then apply the “Where there is smoke there is fire principle” to the numbers below to get a sense of costs.
Major Metropolitan Municipalities: Single-Phase Post-Paid Domestic Tariffs Comparison
Note: All prices below have been converted or standardized to cents per kWh (c/kWh) where applicable. For IBT (Inclining Block Tariff) structures, the highest block charge per unit was selected.
| Municipality | Tariff Name / Type | Pricing Structure & Highest Unit Rate | Basic / Fixed Charges (R/month) |
| City of Cape Town | Domestic User / Home User (Post-paid) |
Block 2 (>600 kWh): 418.03 c/kWh (Domestic User)
Block 2 (>600 kWh): 396.43 c/kWh (Home User) |
R65.02 (Service & Wire) or R368.96 Basic charge |
| Mangaung (Centlec) | Tariff II: IBT Domestic (Conventional) | Winter Block 2 (>350 kWh): 456.09 c/kWh (Summer: 350.58 c/kWh) | R50.00 |
| Buffalo City | Scale 1B: Non-Indigent Domestic & Commercial (Credit Meter) | Part 2 (>2000 kWh): 355.00 c/kWh (Part 1: 336.80 c/kWh) | R461.00 |
| Nelson Mandela Bay Metro | Non-ATTP Domestic Conventional (Scale 31 & 36) | Flat / Single Rate Energy Charge: 392.00 c/kWh | R79.60 |
| eThekwini | Domestic Scale 3, 4, 8, 9 & 13 | Flat Energy Charge: 357.47 c/kWh | Not specified in section |
| City of Ekurhuleni | TARIFF A2: Residential (non-Indigents) / TARIFF B |
IBT Blocks: 306.35 c/kWh
Tariff B High/Low Demand: 337.00 c/kWh |
R109.78 (1-Phase Basic under Tariff B) |
| City of Tshwane | Domestic Tariffs (IBT): Conventional | Block 4 (>650 kWh): 445.51 c/kWh | Included / None listed for base IBT |
| City Power (Johannesburg) | Residential Single Phase 60A / 80A | Block 5 (>3000 kWh): 393.19 c/kWh | Varies by amperage (e.g., Service: R235.79, Capacity: R694.58 for 60A) |
Summary of the 10 Highest Domestic Tariffs Per Unit (Across Major Metros)
- City of Cape Town — Domestic User (Block 2, >600 kWh): 418.03 c/kWh
- Mangaung (Centlec) — Domestic Conventional (Winter Block 2, >350 kWh): 456.09 c/kWh
- City of Tshwane — Domestic Conventional IBT (Block 4, >650 kWh): 445.51 c/kWh
- City of Cape Town — Home User (Block 2, >600 kWh): 396.43 c/kWh
- Nelson Mandela Bay — Non-ATTP Conventional (Scale 31 & 36): 392.00 c/kWh
- City Power (Johannesburg) — Residential Single Phase 60A/80A (Block 5, >3000 kWh): 393.19 c/kWh (Note: grouped closely with peak TOU variations across other schedules)
- City Power (Johannesburg) — Residential Single Phase (Block 4, 2001–3000 kWh): 374.79 c/kWh
- Buffalo City — Scale 1B Non-Indigent Credit Meter (>2000 kWh): 355.00 c/kWh
- eThekwini — Domestic Scale 3, 4, 8, 9 & 13: 357.47 c/kWh
- City of Ekurhuleni — Tariff B (High/Low Demand Season): 337.00 c/kWh
Summary of the 10 Lowest Domestic Tariffs Per Unit (Across Major Metros)
- City of Ekurhuleni — Tariff A2 Residential IBT (Blocks 0–600 kWh): 306.35 c/kWh
- City of Cape Town — Home User IBT (Block 1, 0–600 kWh): 298.07 c/kWh
- City Power (Johannesburg) — Residential Single Phase (Block 1, 0–500 kWh): 288.27 c/kWh
- City Power (Johannesburg) — Residential 3-Phase (Block 1, 0–500 kWh): 280.76 c/kWh
- City of Tshwane — Three-Phase Demand Tariffs (Energy Charge): 248.89 c/kWh
- City of Cape Town — Lifeline Tariff (Block 1 & 2, 0–600+ kWh): 234.67 c/kWh
- eThekwini — Domestic Scale 12: 232.29 c/kWh
- Mangaung (Centlec) — Summer Block 1 (0–350 kWh): 304.42 c/kWh (Lowest block tier entry)
- City of Tshwane — Block 1 (0–100 kWh): 324.12 c/kWh
- Buffalo City — Scale 1B Non-Indigent Credit Meter (First 2000 kWh): 336.80 c/kWh
Straton Prepaid Reveals:
For those of us needing to recover electricity consumption by tenants in a multi unit office or home the route to go is via private prepaid electricity and/or water meters.
These meters are subject to the same testing and measurement procedures by South Africa authorities as municipal meters.
Straton Prepaid sells prepaid electricity and water meters online via their shop at Stratlec.co.za – along with a host of Shelly Products, Shelly Accessories and other hard to find electrical goods.
Advantages:
The sequence of events up to installation here normally operate far faster than your local municipality.
You get to deal with Call Centres and Technical personnel that are very motivated to assist, solve problems and queries.
No monthly reading of conventional meters and invoicing tenants with accompanying difficulties to collect.
A Payment processor that monitors your tariff and automatically adjusts when necessary.
Often cheaper to buy and install than a conventional municipal meter.
Still within the NERSA ‘regime’ – that states that landlords may NOT make money from the resale of electricity but MAY recover admin fees which include payment processing fees, bank fees and a portion of admin fees. Often there will be three sets of bank fees – Client to EasyPay, EasyPay to Payment Processor, Payment Processor to Landlord.
Disadvantages:
The electricity cost per unit to the tenant is higher (up to 12% more including VAT) as a result of the admin and bank fees.
Some Payment Processors may lock landlords into them exclusively by asking for very high fees to issue a Key Change Token. This Key Change Token allows landlords to migrate to a different payment processor. At present there are 633 different Payment Processors listed on the EasyPay Site so choose carefully which one you want to go with.
Ask about how much the payment processing fees are – most Payment Processors will include the admin fees in the per unit price paid by your tenants but, make sure of this beforehand.
Ask about how much your Payment Processor will charge for a Key Change Token and get it in writing. Often this fee will be dependant upon how long your account has been in effect.
If the wheels fall off for your Payment Processor then, at best case, you will lose a month’s collections – remember these Payment Processors collect the tenant payments on your behalf and then pay you once every month. You, in turn, then settle the municipal bill.
Who Should You Trust?
Of course I am going to say, in public, that Straton Prepaid and their Payment Processor – PMD are the right people to deal with.
Why?
Straton Prepaid (part of Straton Electrical) have been in business since 1966 – in the days when a man’s word was his bond. Straton Prepaid handles the Eastern Cape with installations of prepaid meters whilst PMD does the Payment Processing for tens of thousands of meters countrywide with offices in George, Cape Town and Johannesburg.
We have had prepaid meters of our own with PMD for more than 10 years and can attest that PMD have never missed or been late with a payment cycle – like clockwork the money lands in our account on or before the 7th of each month along with a statement detailing purchase, sales and cost.
Straton Prepaid service many different clients – from small flatlets to large three phase commercial to large international communications clients with specific tailored needs that PMD are flexible enough to accommodate within the constraints of their system.
Pat Pillai brings ‘My Cape Town’ to Durban