South African households could see a significant increase in their monthly electricity bills starting in April, potentially adding up to an extra R480 per month, totalling R5 760 per year.
This is according to calculations by Jean-Phillipe Ghyoot, business director for Alumo Energy, a South African solar and backup solutions provider.
Also read: South Africans need to brace for another big electricity tariff hike in 2024
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) gave the green light to a 12.74% hike for 2024/2025 in January. This increase is set to hit Eskom-supplied customers from 1 April and municipal customers from 1 July. It follows last year’s hefty 18.65% increase, making matters worse for consumers already reeling from extensive loadshedding in 2023.
‘There’s no sugarcoating South Africa’s situation right now regarding power, whether at home or in the workplace,’ says Ghyoot. ‘We not only have an unreliable supply, but we are also facing a second front of attack in the form of ongoing price hikes.’
Alumo provided an example by calculating the anticipated electricity expenses for a typical family of five in Pretoria, comparing prices in April to those of one, three and five years ago. With an assumed annual consumption of 12 000 kWh, their monthly bill under the City of Tshwane’s ‘domestic supply’ rates would be around R3 800, adding up to R45 600 per annum in terms of the 2023/2024 rates.
The price changes at municipal levels post-April are still pending announcement. However, if this family experiences a 12.74% increase, their monthly bill could rocket to over R4 300 or nearly R51 600 annually.
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Three years ago, this family would have been shelling out approximately R3 000 each month or R36 000 per year. However, highlighting the stark effect of steep price surges, their bill five years ago would have amounted to around R2 500 per month or R30 000 annually – a difference in excess of R21 600 alone.
As per GlobalPetrolPrices.com, South African consumers currently fork out 250% more than their Nigerian counterparts for electricity, while Zimbabwe offers rates 97% lower than ours. Furthermore, only nine other African nations face steeper tariffs than ours. These figures don’t include the impending 2024 rate hikes.
‘By contrast, a well-designed solar system tailored to households’ specific energy requirements, that balances costs versus energy benefits, should offer savings of at least 65% on electricity bills,’ says Ghyoot.
‘In our example, had this household installed a solar system, they would have accumulated savings of approximately R43 000 in electricity costs over the last three years.’
He adds that we are now past the point of questioning whether to install backup power.
‘Bear in mind that the cost of alternative power solutions has remained steady over the past few years, whilst the electricity price soars, representing increasing savings over time. As a result, the cost-benefit keeps leaning towards power alternatives as an attractive long-term investment.’
‘Ultimately, for the foreseeable future, “life as normal” isn’t going to happen; certainly with regard to our electricity supply. We will need to take extraordinary steps, and it makes sense to see a quality solar system installed by professionals as an important long-term investment that can save on electricity and even add to the value of your property.’
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Also read:
2023 loadshedding surpasses total outages of last 4 years combined
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