News24 Business | ANALYSIS | Hammering the poor in Joburg with enormous new electricity price increases

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The vast majority of indigent and other poor households served by City Power, the municipal electricity distributor for the City of Johannesburg, are in for a nasty surprise, with massive cost increases from 1 July 2024. This if Nersa approves the new electricity prices applied for by City Power, says Chris Yelland.

On average, typical indigent households – the poorest-of-the-poor in Johannesburg – use about 200kWh of electricity per month, and with effect from 1 July 2024 such households are facing an increase of some 60% for this very low amount of electricity. Poor households using 300kWh of electricity per month are facing an increase of 45%.

This is as a result of major structural changes in prepayment meter electricity tariffs and tariff rates approved by the Council of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, and submitted to the National Energy Regulator for SA (Nersa) for approval for implementation from 1 July 2024.

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