Ekurhuleni residents to pay more after tariff hikes
Finance MMC Jongizizwe Dlabathi announced increases in service charges during his budget speech on Thursday to come into effect in the 2025/2026 year.
ALSO READ:
- Ekurhuleni budget: Residents to pay more for water, electricity, sanitation & refuse removal
- City of Ekurhuleni decides to insource essential services to strengthen internal capacity
- Ekurhuleni sets aside R250m to rehabilitate road infrastructure, particularly potholes
However, unlike in Johannesburg, property rates and municipal bus services will not increase.
If the Ekurhuleni City Council approves the proposed budget, residents will see a 15% increase in their monthly water bills.
Electricity prices are also set to rise, but only in accordance with the guidelines set by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA).
Additionally, refuse removal fees will go up by 6%, while sanitation services will cost 10% more.
Dlabathi said when compared to other metros, these increases are relatively reasonable.
"Our 2025/26 tariffs are lesser on sanitation and refuse removal compared to the City of Joburg, Cape Town and eThekwini, except for the City of Tshwane. Similarly, the average comparative analysis of 2024/25 tariffs shows that we came second with 10.43%, while the City of Cape Town approved the highest average tariff of 13.71%.'
These tariffs will go towards funding the city's R65 billion budget.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Eyewitness News
4 days ago
- Eyewitness News
Nersa blunders could cost South African taxpayers R40bn more for electricity
The settlement dates back to the financial years 2015 to 2021. Eskom is likely to challenge the the R40 billion amount, believing Nersa's errors amount to more. Nersa's electricity subcommittee is due to meet at a special meeting on Wednesday 16 July, where this is likely to be discussed. Speaking to Stephen Grootes on The Money Show, energy expert, Ruse Moleshe says it has happened before where Nersa has been wrong and had to recover tariffs over a period of time.
The Citizen
4 days ago
- The Citizen
Nersa's mistakes will hit you hard
Eskom gave a presentation to Nersa, proposing the number of tariffs be reduced from 10 to three. The courts have ruled in favour of Eskom in almost all of its applications against Nersa, and the trend looks set to continue. Picture: Shutterstock Moneyweb has learnt that consumers will have to cough up at least R40 billion more for Eskom following a settlement between the utility and the energy regulator Nersa. This pertains to mistakes Nersa's made in several decisions regarding Eskom's revenue and tariffs. This amount may increase as Eskom has launched a fresh challenge to Nersa's latest decisions regarding the utility's revenue and tariffs for the current and the next two financial years. Eskom's court application is the latest in a string of challenges to Nersa decisions, almost all ruled in favour of Eskom. Moneyweb has learnt that several such applications were settled between the two parties in May. This was not widely communicated at the time. The settlement, which was made an order of the court, pertains to clawbacks spanning the financial years 2015 to 2021. ALSO READ: Ekurhuleni metro and Nersa lock horns over electricity tariff discrepancy Clawbacks The clawback mechanism is designed to retrospectively compensate either the utility or its customers for variations in the assumptions underlying the revenue determination, such as sales volumes. The compensation is done by adjusting electricity tariffs in following years. Eskom disputed the amount Nersa decided it was entitled to claw back in each year from 2015 to 2021. Following the settlement Eskom is entitled to recover in total R40 billion more from consumers for underrecovery over the period due to mistakes made by Nersa. In terms of the order, Nersa will decide on the timing of this recovery. ALSO READ: Nersa's municipal tariff process flawed, says Sapoa Nersa still making mistakes? Eskom now alleges that Nersa's latest revenue and tariff determination for the current and next two financial years is also flawed. This will be on the agenda of Nersa's electricity subcommittee during a special meeting on Wednesday (16 July). It follows an application by Eskom to the Gauteng Division of the High Court to have the decision reviewed and set aside. Nersa announced in January that it had approved revenues of R384.6 billion for Eskom for the current financial year, which translated to an average percentage increase of 12.74%. This took effect on 1 April. ALSO READ: The silent 77.5% rise of your electricity bill The allowable revenue approved for 2026/7 is R409.5 billion, which translates to an average increase of 5.36% and for 2027/8 it is R435.8 billion, which translates to an average increase of 6.19%. This is considerably lower than the amounts Eskom applied for, which would have meant increases of 36.15%, 11.81%, and 9.1% in the three consecutive years. Following Nersa's publication of the reason for its decision early last month, Eskom filed an application to have the decision reviewed and set aside specifically regarding Nersa's treatment of the Regulatory Asset Base (RAB). Moneyweb has reliably learnt that Nersa has not yet indicated whether it will oppose the application. Presumably the meeting on Wednesday will make a recommendation to the electricity regulator, which will then take a final decision. The formulation of the agenda point however indicates that Nersa may have accepted Eskom's argument and is open to settling the matter. It reads: 'Correction of error on the Eskom sixth multi-year price determination decision (MYPD6) Regulatory Asset Base section and proposed settlement.' ALSO READ: Nersa approves 12.7% electricity tariff hike for Eskom Eskom's arguments In an affidavit supporting its court application, Eskom CFO Calib Cassim sets out in detail – some of it quite technical – the mistakes that Eskom contends Nersa has made. This includes attaching a zero value to several operational power stations, including Koeberg. He shows that the value attached to the RAB is key to determining the returns Eskom is entitled to – and that Nersa's downward adjustments of the RAB in each of the three years dealt with in the tariff application cost the utility about R30 billion in total. Cassim says that Nersa, in taking the decision, exceeded its powers and acted inconsistently with its own methodology and with an earlier court order dealing with the same subject. ALSO READ: 30% electricity tariff increase is a reality, says Erasa He states that Nersa's decision is irrational and unreasonable. Cassim points out that Nersa's flawed approach to the RAB only applies to the application by Eskom's generation business. Those of the National Transmission Company of South Africa, a wholly owned subsidiary dealing with transmission, and the distribution business, were dealt with correctly, in Eskom's view. In addition, there are discrepancies between some of the numbers in the press release Nersa issued in January announcing its decision and those in the document issued in June setting out the reasons for its decision. ALSO READ: Eskom proposes further tariff restructuring to ensure 'transparency and fairness' Cassim further argues that the condition Nersa set for its approval of the utility's revenue – that it submit a revaluation of its RAB, with the first clawback application following the 2025/6 financial year – is unrealistic and impossible. Such a revaluation takes at least 30 months and is an expensive exercise, according to Cassim. Any adjustments in Eskom's favour will be reflected in future increases in electricity tariffs. This comes against the backdrop of widespread concern about the affordability of electricity, with Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientso Ramokgopa saying that South Africans must increasingly choose between buying food and buying electricity. He said even middle-class South Africans are battling to afford electricity. This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.
The Citizen
6 days ago
- The Citizen
AbaQulusi residents outraged by sharp electricity tariff hikes
AbaQulusi residents have expressed their frustration and anger on Facebook since bearing the brunt of the increased electricity tariffs, which came into effect on July 1. Especially consumers who use prepaid meters have seen a sharp price hike, leaving them feeling concerned about their financial state. The increases form part of the municipality's 2025/26 budget implementation, but residents say there was little to no meaningful public engagement during the IDP roadshows, when the tariff hikes were proposed. 'We always buy R800 and used to get 299 units. Today, however, we only got 186 units for R800. It's ridiculous!' exclaimed one affected resident on the Vryheid Herald's Facebook page. These tariff hikes come after the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) approved Eskom's price increases, which municipalities pass on to consumers. However, residents argue that AbaQulusi's service delivery failures – frequent outages, poor communication and ageing infrastructure – make the increases unacceptable. Another resident said, 'We would understand if they were charging us these exorbitant amounts for stable electricity supply, but they are charging us for electricity that is unstable.' In the Adopted Annual Budget, the municipality refers to the major challenge they are facing, namely vandalism, which has a negative impact on electrical infrastructure. 'This not only affects service delivery, as services become unavailable immediately after infrastructure has been vandalised, but it's also expensive to repair and replace.' Even though electricity is more expensive (according to the adopted municipal budget, which is available on their website), the real cost is much higher than consumers are being charged now. The 2025/26 Adopted Annual Budget and Medium-Term Revenue & Expenditure Framework (MTREF) reveal that the municipality is under financial pressure to keep the Electricity Department running. Despite a price hike of 11.32% in bulk electricity from Eskom, AbaQulusi is still not charging enough to fully cover costs. A 'Cost of Supply' study shows that to run the electricity section efficiently and keep up with Eskom's electricity increases, tariffs should ideally increase by 51%. But the municipality says that such an increase would be unaffordable for residents. Instead, the municipality has implemented the following tariff increases: • A 25% rise for residential users (prepaid and conventional) • A 15% rise for other consumers like businesses For the past three years, electricity sales have not brought in enough money to pay Eskom. As a result, other municipal funds have been used to subsidise the Electricity Department. Making matters more difficult is the fact that municipalities owing Eskom money, including AbaQulusi, are now required to include repayment plans in their annual budgets. NERSA has confirmed that it will only approve tariff applications based on 'Cost of Supply' studies that were submitted by municipalities. This means that tariffs are probably going to increase over the next few years. The municipality also implemented a 'High Season' tariff in the winter months of June, July and August, since Eskom charges municipalities more during this period. The current challenge is also that domestic consumers are being undercharged for electricity, while businesses and other consumers are being overcharged. According to the adopted budget, for consumers who use a prepaid meter, electricity is now charged using two pricing blocks instead of the previous four. This means that if you buy up to 350kWh in a month, you'll pay a lower rate (Block 1). If you buy more than 350 kWh in total during that month, the extra units will cost more per unit (Block 2). The system will keep track of how many units you have bought in that same month. This means that even if you buy electricity in smaller amounts, the total for the month is the same. Once you go over 350 kWh, consumers will pay the higher rate. Domestic prepaid electricity users (excluding the indigent) will have to pay a fixed monthly service fee, as well as higher rates during winter months. According to the municipality's adopted 2025/26 budget, this applies to households with single-phase prepaid connections between 30 and 60 amps, which are common in most homes. All prepaid consumers will pay a monthly service fee of R25. Domestic consumers (excluding the indigent) will pay R2.55 per kwh for the first 350 kWh purchased and thereafter R2.72 per kWh. During the Eskom high season (June to August), electricity will cost more: • R3.74 per unit for the first 350 kWh you use in a month. • R4.16 per unit for any units above 350 kWh. If you use a conventional (monthly billed) meter: Conventional consumers will pay a monthly service charge of R224 (excluding three phase consumers, who will pay a service charge of R1300 a month). • For the first 350 kWh used in the month, you'll pay R2.72 per unit. • After that, every extra unit costs R3.79. In Eskom's high season (June to August): • The first 350 kWh will be R3.35 per unit; • Over 350 kWh will be R4.12 per unit. The Vryheid Herald has requested a proper breakdown of the new tariffs, since consumers are complaining and confused. Unfortunately, this information from the municipality had not been received at the time of going to print. ALSO READ: Municipality warns residents to avoid scammer posing as disconnection official The news provided to you in this link comes to you from the editorial staff of the Vryheid Herald, a sold newspaper distributed in the Vryheid area. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
