Ekurhuleni mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza has been forced to temporarily backtrack on the imposition of a basic electricity charge of R126 for Thembisa residents.
This was after thousands of residents took to the streets on Monday morning to protest against the new charge that was introduced at the beginning of the month, in addition to electricity increases.
The protests led to some streets being blockaded and several residents injured after confrontations with police. The City of Ekurhuleni said the purpose of this basic charge was to help the municipality recover the costs associated with distributing electricity, as well as ongoing repairs and maintenance.
In these times of increases in the cost of living, the charge is another burden as people struggle to make ends meet. What seemed to irk the residents was that the decision to introduce the charge was taken without consultations.
“The worst scenario is buying electricity worth R1,000, then Ekurhuleni will take their cut, which is R200. When we ask the reason, they claim it's because of the repairs they have to do within the township. This has been happening since June. They are doing this on their own accord without speaking to us as residents,” one resident told eNCA.
There was an uproar when the City of Johannesburg introduced a similar surcharge last year, but there were no protests. There was a petition signed by 15,000 Johannesburg residents in July last year after its introduction, but nothing came of the petition as Johannesburg prepaid residents still pay it.
In a statement it issued on July 7 to provide “clarity and context” on the fixed charge, the Ekurhuleni municipality said the charge on electricity bills was not unique to Ekurhuleni.
It said municipalities across the country had similar charges in place as part of their standard tariff structures. However, the municipality said approved indigent and deemed indigent residential customers receive 50kWh of free basic electricity per month and are not required to pay the basic monthly charge.
The municipality is within its rights to introduce these charges to improve service delivery. However, it also has a duty to communicate these charges clearly to affected communities
Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero provided compelling reasons why the municipality imposed the charge.
“We sell electricity to you, but there is no-one paying between you and us for maintenance of infrastructure that transports electricity to your houses. It becomes very important to raise that capital from somewhere,” he said.
After the protests in Thembisa on Monday morning, Xhakaza met residents and informed them the municipality was temporarily suspending the charge.
He asked residents to send petitions to allow officials to go to the mayoral committee to discuss a permanent solution.
The municipality is within its rights to introduce these charges to improve service delivery. However, it also has a duty to communicate these charges clearly to affected communities.
The issue of an additional increase should not be taken lightly by Ekurhuleni, because the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) approved an increase of 12.74% for Eskom direct customers and 11.32% for municipal bulk purchases for the 2025/26 year. In the case of Ekurhuleni, the municipality announced an increase of 13.4% for its customers plus the fixed charge of R126.
The municipality needs this charge to ensure the stable provision of electricity, and someone needs to pay for this.
The municipality must go back to the drawing board and ensure it comes back with a solution agreeable to all. This might include a reduced amount that homeowners could pay, considering the demands on their budgets.
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