GEORGE NEWS - The George Municipality's new electricity billing system, based on the power limit adjustment project, has been rolled out in phases over the past year. Phase three is currently being rolled out and it will take place as follows:

From 1 July, the municipality will bill consumers based on the installed capacity of their prepaid meters.

If you have an installed capacity of 60A prepaid meter on your premises, you will be billed on 60A in line with the new tariff structure, unless:

• Your meter has been limited through the field team; or
• You have applied for capacity selection via elec.applications@george.gov.za and received a reference.

All consumers who have applied to the municipality, will be billed based on the selected capacity on the application form.

All consumers who have already made their selections and whose changes have been implemented by field teams, will not be impacted by these changes.

Apply as soon as possible

Please apply as soon as possible to avoid paying for installed capacity while requiring a lower capacity. By the end of June, consumers would have had sufficient time to apply for their required capacity.

Consumers are only allowed one capacity change per financial year; any additional changes would be subject to a tariff.

Small domestic and commercial tariffs (ie, prepaid and conventionally metered consumers) are linked to the capacity limit of the 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 20-amp 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
• 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.

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 customers are selecting the capacity as low as possible to reduce cost without understanding the implications. This is evident by the number of upgrades required once a selection is implemented. Please consider your selection carefully.

Do 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.

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