R250 a month: That's the new electricity tariff Cape Town is slapping on households

Capetonians who own properties valued at more than R1-million will be hit with a new R8.21-a-day electricity tariff from July 1.

Xanthea Limberg‚ the mayoral committee member for utilities‚ said households that consumed more than 600 units of electricity a month would not notice a difference in their bills.

But the move has caused an uproar‚ with dozens of Capetonians taking to Facebook to voice their unhappiness. Ratepayers in homes valued at more than R400‚000 will also lose their free basic water supply from July 1.

Limberg said the new “home user tariff” of about R250 a month would apply to “those with properties valued at over R1 million‚ and all customers making use of the old credit meters”.

The new charge was aimed at recovering the cost of maintaining the service‚ previously built into the unit price for electricity. It would ensure that households in lower- and middle-income areas would see a 2.8% tariff increase‚ rather than the 3.34% experienced elsewhere.

Posting on the Water Shedding Western Cape Facebook group‚ Gené Clarkson said the proposed tariff increases were “shockingly high”.

Another user‚ Rosemary Lambard‚ said: “How many places in CT are not valued at over R1 million right now? And if you‚ like me‚ are a tenant in a vastly overpriced flat with a prepaid meter‚ you're going to pick up that additional cost‚ not the landlord. This is not okay. Please go and object‚ everyone!”

Craig Ball said: “So why only for houses worth more than a million? We already pay more rates.”

- TMG Digital/TimesLIVE