Cape Town mayor Dan Plato is to meet Public Enterprises Minster Barbara Hogan to discuss the city's subsidy to Eskom to provide free basic electricity to households, a subsidy that costs the city more than R100-million.
Plato said that, to be fair to all indigent electricity users in Cape Town, the mayoral committee had recommended to the council that the city amend its policy of subsidising Eskom to provide free basic electricity to users in the Eskom supply area of the city.
About one-third of consumers in the metropole, mainly in rural areas, Table View, Khayelitsha and Parklands, buy electricity directly from Eskom, and the rest buy through the city council.
"It is recommended that the city reduce its subsidy to Eskom to provide free basic electricity to Eskom customers who use less than 250 kilowatt hours per month, and not to those who use less than 450kW hours, as it used to do," said Plato.
He said he would meet Hogan to discuss the issue.
"I've asked her to intervene for funding to fill the gap," Plato said.
In the meantime, the city will continue to provide free basic electricity to its own customers who use less than 450kW hours a month.
Plato said Eskom had changed its tariff structure so that domestic customers using more than 150kWh a month were paying significantly less than the equivalent City of Cape Town customers.
"The city therefore needed to review its free basic electricity subsidy to Eskom, so that the city's subsidy to Eskom did not result in Eskom's customers paying less than the city's own customers," he said.
Mayoral committee member for finance Ian Neilson said that all municipalities in the country subsidised Eskom by about two cents per kilowatt.
"Those two cents might not seem like much, but it's around R120-million.
"And the city is one of Eskom's biggest customers and it should be subsidised," Neilson said.
The ANC's Raymond Mrawu said the city should charge a cheaper tariff for everyone.
"I don't know why the city doesn't change. Eskom is more sympathetic to the poorest of the poor.
"It's very important for the city to follow Eskom," Mrawu said.
Cynthia Clayton of the Independent Democrats said electricity had become so expensive that the meter boxes in homes in her area had become like televisions.
"People are watching their boxes more than TV. It's a total rip-off for the poor. We're actually going backwards," Clayton said.
The city's new system slots consumers into a tariff band according to the amount of electricity they buy.
The basic price of electricity increased by an average of 25 percent at the beginning of the month, but several consumers the Cape Times spoke to have found that their bills have increased by 60 to 70 percent.
A pensioner in Gordon's Bay found herself paying 93.31 cents per unit compared to 53.31 cents per unit before the tariff change.
"A unit is equal to 1 kilowatt-hour (kWh).
"I was told by the municipality that if you purchase more units than you normally use, you will be placed in a higher band," she said.
A man in Claremont found himself in a similar situation.
"I would urge all pre-paid users to check their new costs of power, mine increased from 61 cents per unit to 106 cents per unit, a far cry from the 25 to 35 percent announced," he said
"Energy has become more expensive than it used to be and people need to understand that the more they use, the more they will be charged.
"Free basic electricity is still there for lower users," Neilson said.
Neilson said people needed to change their lifestyles and make use of cost-saving measures.
Jolene Henn, Eskom's regional communication and stakeholder manager in the Western Cape, said that all those customers within its electricity supply areas consuming up to 450kWh per month did receive free basic electricity.
"Eskom's direct domestic customers pay less for electricity than the city's, depending on the tariff and consumption level," she said.
- Cape Times
Plato said that, to be fair to all indigent electricity users in Cape Town, the mayoral committee had recommended to the council that the city amend its policy of subsidising Eskom to provide free basic electricity to users in the Eskom supply area of the city.
About one-third of consumers in the metropole, mainly in rural areas, Table View, Khayelitsha and Parklands, buy electricity directly from Eskom, and the rest buy through the city council.
"It is recommended that the city reduce its subsidy to Eskom to provide free basic electricity to Eskom customers who use less than 250 kilowatt hours per month, and not to those who use less than 450kW hours, as it used to do," said Plato.
He said he would meet Hogan to discuss the issue.
"I've asked her to intervene for funding to fill the gap," Plato said.
In the meantime, the city will continue to provide free basic electricity to its own customers who use less than 450kW hours a month.
Plato said Eskom had changed its tariff structure so that domestic customers using more than 150kWh a month were paying significantly less than the equivalent City of Cape Town customers.
"The city therefore needed to review its free basic electricity subsidy to Eskom, so that the city's subsidy to Eskom did not result in Eskom's customers paying less than the city's own customers," he said.
Mayoral committee member for finance Ian Neilson said that all municipalities in the country subsidised Eskom by about two cents per kilowatt.
"Those two cents might not seem like much, but it's around R120-million.
"And the city is one of Eskom's biggest customers and it should be subsidised," Neilson said.
The ANC's Raymond Mrawu said the city should charge a cheaper tariff for everyone.
"I don't know why the city doesn't change. Eskom is more sympathetic to the poorest of the poor.
"It's very important for the city to follow Eskom," Mrawu said.
Cynthia Clayton of the Independent Democrats said electricity had become so expensive that the meter boxes in homes in her area had become like televisions.
"People are watching their boxes more than TV. It's a total rip-off for the poor. We're actually going backwards," Clayton said.
The city's new system slots consumers into a tariff band according to the amount of electricity they buy.
The basic price of electricity increased by an average of 25 percent at the beginning of the month, but several consumers the Cape Times spoke to have found that their bills have increased by 60 to 70 percent.
A pensioner in Gordon's Bay found herself paying 93.31 cents per unit compared to 53.31 cents per unit before the tariff change.
"A unit is equal to 1 kilowatt-hour (kWh).
"I was told by the municipality that if you purchase more units than you normally use, you will be placed in a higher band," she said.
A man in Claremont found himself in a similar situation.
"I would urge all pre-paid users to check their new costs of power, mine increased from 61 cents per unit to 106 cents per unit, a far cry from the 25 to 35 percent announced," he said
"Energy has become more expensive than it used to be and people need to understand that the more they use, the more they will be charged.
"Free basic electricity is still there for lower users," Neilson said.
Neilson said people needed to change their lifestyles and make use of cost-saving measures.
Jolene Henn, Eskom's regional communication and stakeholder manager in the Western Cape, said that all those customers within its electricity supply areas consuming up to 450kWh per month did receive free basic electricity.
"Eskom's direct domestic customers pay less for electricity than the city's, depending on the tariff and consumption level," she said.
- Cape Times
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