Electricity, water tariffs to rise in the City of Johannesburg as from July

Metro has R59bn to spend for the 2018/2019 year

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Electricity tariffs in the City of Johannesburg will rise by 7.37% as of July 1.

This was announced by Johannesburg finance MMC Funzela Ngobeni when he presented his budget in Braamfontein yesterday.

“This is largely a pass through cost based on the application of National Energy Regulator of South Africa municipal tariff guidelines applied on the Eskom increase of 6.84% and includes service and distribution costs.

“The city continues to apply a step tariff to electricity, meaning that high-consuming customers will pay higher tariffs,” said Ngobeni.

He also announced that tariffs for water‚ sewerage and sanitation services will rise by 14.2%. “In our efforts to provide relief to our poorest residents, the city will continue to offer free basic water to registered indigent households.

“The highest allocation of free basic water will be provided to households earning no formal income, receiving up to 15 kilolitres of water per month and 150 kilowatt hours of electricity via the city’s extended social package programme,” he said.

“Lower levels of allocations will range between 10 kilolitres of free water per month and 12 kilolitres of water provided without charge to the most vulnerable in our city,” Ngobeni said.

Refuse tariffs will increase by an average of 6.8% in the new 2018/2019 financial year.

“Refuse removal is charged on the basis of property value, and the service is rendered free to residential properties whose value is within the exempted threshold for rates.”

He said pensioner home owners will receive a 100% property rebate if their household income was lower than R9 245, and their property value is not more than R2.5million.

“Pensioners who are 70 years and older will receive a 100% rebate irrespective of income, with a property value of not more than R2.5-million,” he said.

“The city will also provide a 100% rebate to residents who are on the expanded social package programme, who are not pensioners and whose property value does not exceed R500 000.”

The city has R59-billion to spend for the 2018/2019 financial year‚ which begins in July.

The budget is made up of R51-billion in operating expenditure and capital expenditure of R7.8-billion.

The three-year capital appropriation requested in this budget is R25.4-billion for the period up to 2020/2021.

‘ ‘ Free basic water for households with no formal income