New electricity tariff structure rollout

GEORGE NEWS - George Municipality has been working on phasing in a new electricity tariff structure since 1 July last year.

The new structure is in line with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) approved cost of supply study for George as well as the municipal Electricity Pricing Policy.

The municipality has been effecting these changes in a variety of ways so as to limit the impact on consumers as far as possible.

Phase one roll-out

To date, the following has been included in the process:

• Consumers were provided with an opportunity to select their amperage capacity, in line with their household power requirement.

• Consumers who had not yet made a selection for their capacity (amps) by 1 July 2022 were then placed on a capacity selected by the municipality. The capacity selection is based on the consumers' consumption during the 12 preceding months (historic consumption). The option remains open for these consumers to make a change and select their own capacity.

• George Municipality has sent out field teams to visit residents at home and implement the changes, where residents have applied and chosen a capacity for their house; and/or where no selection was made and the municipality then applied a capacity based on historic consumption.

• To minimise the impact of a consumer making a choice that does not work for them and having to get the field team in again to make a change, consumers were also given the opportunity to make a capacity selection while a field team was at their home.

• Communication continued through various platforms to request consumers to make their selection timeously.

Thousands of consumers have had the capacity (amps) addressed through either their own selection or the municipal capacity selection, based on information gathered by the field workers. The field teams will continue to go out weekly to do amperage limit roll-out and site inspections on prepaid meters.

Consumers who have already made their selection will not be affected by Phase 2 of the Power Limit Adjustment Project.

What about consumers who have not yet made a selection?

The consumers who have not made a selection yet or who are not happy with the selection made by the municipality based on historical consumption, are encouraged to do so speedily on the details shared below.

The first and most preferred option is always for consumers to select the capacity they require. Consumers are allowed one opportunity per financial year to make such a change in capacity.

Phase two roll-out

From 1 April, the municipality will apply the following capacity selection based on the historic consumption:

• If consumer had a 12-month average historic monthly consumption of above 400 units (kWh) and below 600 units (kWh), the consumer will be placed on 30A;

• If consumer had a 12-month average historic monthly consumption of above 600 units (kWh), the consumer will be placed on 40A;

• Indigent consumers will not be impacted by this phase, as all indigent consumers are dealt with in line with the Indigent Policy.

• All consumers who have already made their selections will not be impacted.

Key reminders on the applicable electrical tariffs are:

• Small domestic and commercial tariffs (prepaid and conventionally metered consumers) are linked to the capacity limit of supply they choose.

• Consumers who are willing to manage their loads within a capacity limited to 20 amps single phase are offered a subsidised tariff with no fixed charges.

• All consumers who require more than 20amp capacity are charged a phased-in cost reflective tariff with:

• a fixed basic charge,

• a capacity charge depending on the capacity limit of the supply and

• a lower energy charge.

Bulk consumers have all been moved to a time of use tariff

• Small scale energy generator (SSEG) consumers are subject to fixed and time of use energy charges. Further information on understanding the potential electricity cost and management of loads, and how to make a decision about the capacity you can choose, will be provided.

Bear this in mind when making your choice:

• Capacity selection by the municipality based on the consumer's historic consumption was for a financial break-even to reduce the impact on the customer and not necessarily to confirm the capacity required.

• The municipality cannot determine the optimal capacity required with the available meter data, therefore consumers must determine what their energy and capacity requirements are.

• The municipality has noted that some customers are selecting the capacity as low as possible to reduce cost, but without understanding the implications. This is evident by the number of upgrades required once a selection is implemented. Please consider your selection carefully.

Talk to someone

If you want to discuss your energy consumption and find out what the best capacity will be for your needs, phone 044 801 9243, have your municipal account number and prepaid meter number handy, OR email your query to elec.applications@george.gov.za.

Find the links to these relevant forms below:

Link to Excel Calculator - establish how many units you will receive for cash value and do the comparisons with selection of either 30/40/50 or 60 Amps

Note: The excel spreadsheet must be downloaded from the link and enabled for editing. It will not work on cellphones that do not have Excel Viewer (XLXS Reader).

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