Good news for electricity prices and other tariff hikes in Durban
The City of eThekwini has revised its proposed lower electricity price increase for 2023 while also marginally reducing the property and sanitation rate hikes.
The city tabled its revised budget to be adopted by the council on Wednesday (31 May). According to the city, the updated proposal makes the following tariff revisions:
- Electricity tariff hike reduced from 21.9% to 18.49%;
- Sanitation tariff hike reduced from 11.9% to 10.9%;
- Rates tariff hike reduced from 8.9% to 7.9%;
- Refuse tariff hike reduced from 8.0% to 6.9%.
“We have noted the response by residents to this increase,” the city said, “Hence we are tabling the revised figure.”
The city said that balancing the budget against the increased pressure on households has been difficult. Tariffs need to be cost-reflective, it said, but also need to ensure there is enough money for service delivery. The revised tariffs are an effort to cushion the blow, it said.
Notably, most proposed service fee hikes have been reduced except for water.
Regarding the water tariff, the city said that the circumstances are more challenging, and so the 14.9% increase for residents and 15.9% for businesses remains unchanged.
Some of the key drivers impacting the water hike include: a 5.5% increase imposed by Umgeni Water; a 3% increase related to the building of a new dam; a 4.3% for maintenance and repairs; and a 1% towards security, among other factors.
The revisions bring eThekwini’s electricity price increases in line with the rest of the major metros, and also in line with the increase granted to Eskom by energy regulator Nersa.
The tariff increases will kick in from 1 July 2023.
Major metros in South Africa have tabled their draft budget proposals for the 2023/24 financial year, revealing hefty tariff increases for residents – including property rates, electricity, water, sanitation, and refuse removal.
Addressing the reasons for the proposed tariffs, many of the municipal mayors said that above-inflation Eskom, water board, and salary increases have made tariff increases inevitable.
While eThekwini’s electricity tariff is no longer the highest among the metroes, its other increases remain squarely more expensive than other cities. The metro, along with KwaZulu-Natal at large has been beset by a myriad of issues that have put budgets under severe strain.
On the other end of the spectrum, the City of Cape Town has reduced Eskom’s 18.49% municipal rate increase to 17.6% by absorbing about R15 million a month.
According to Cape Town’s mayoral committee member for finance, Siseko Mbandezi, about 70% of Cape Town’s tariff income will go towards buying bulk electricity from Eskom, with the remaining 30% invested in service delivery and ending load shedding.
The proposed rate hikes are listed below.
It must be noted that the City of Ekurhuleni’s planned increase in residential electricity tariffs by 15% was tabled before Nersa pronounced Eskom’s municipal tariffs, which leaves room for adjustments.
| Municipality | Electricity | Water | Property | Sanitation | Refuse removal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of Joburg | 18.65% | 9.3% | 5.3% | 9.3% | 7.0% |
| Tshwane | 18.0% | 9.2% | 5.0% | 9.2% | 6.0% |
| eThekwini | 18.49% | 14.9% | 7.9% | 10.9% | 6.9% |
| City of Cape Town | 17.6% | 8.6% | -1.1% | 8.6% | 5.5% |
| Ekurhuleni | 15.0% | 12.0% | 4.4% | 5.3% | 5.3% |
| Nelson Mandela Bay | 18.49% | 6.0% | 5.0% | 6.0% | 6.0% |
| Buffalo City | 18.65% | 9.86% | 8.0% | 5.3% | 5.3% |
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