MUNICIPALITY RESPONDS: August increases spark outrage – (Must Read)

The municipality has supplied response to the Newcastle Advertiser front page story this week.

Unfortunately, the response missed the deadline for going to print, but has been printed below:

“The increased municipal bills are firstly as a result of the implementation of the new tariffs for electricity and water the 2018/ 2019 financial year. These tariffs are implemented for the July consumption which are reflected on the end of August municipal bill. The billing is in arrears therefore meters that are read during the month of July are only reflected on the consumers August statement. These municipal bills are payable by 07 September 2017,” explained Director of Financial Management, Asha Haripersad.

She explained no route was averaged from last year, and said the municipality had committed itself to continuing this trend.

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Haripersad added rates, sewer and refuse tariffs and water availability charges increased by just over seven cent as of July 1, 2018, and these increases were included in the July municipal bill.

Electricity charges increased by eight per cent and were also reflect in the August bills.

“The other reason for the increased municipal bill is a direct result of the increase in the consumption of electricity by households.  The electricity charge on the August bill is for consumption in July, which is the coldest period in winter; it is also during the school holiday period where the electricity consumption is higher due to the children being at home.”

Haripersad said there was a historic trend reflected in the increase in electricity consumption from May to August of every year.

This increase was said to be the direct result of colder weather during those months, with changes in temperature directly affecting ‘daily habits, which in turn increases the consumption of electricity…’

Factors contributing to increased consumption were listed as :

• Switching on lights earlier in the mornings and evenings.
• Geysers having to use more electricity to heat colder ground water.
• The increased consumption of appliances, and food taking longer to cook and heat.
• The tendency of people to use hot water to rinse dirty dishes in winter, brush their teeth and when taking a shower.

Haripersad said these patterns increased consumption of electricity even before heaters, air conditioners and electric blankets were factored in.

“Consumers are advised to try to minimise their electricity usage by making small changes to their daily activities especially during the winter months to help reduce their municipal bill.”

Provided tips included switching off lights and air cons when not in use, using a washing machine and dishwasher only for full loads, and ensuring the geyser thermostat was functioning correctly.

Haripersad also provided a table to show a direct correlation between consumption of electricity and temperature.

She said a consumer account was taken at random to illustrate this:

Haripersad said the statistical information was taken from www.myweather2.com, and stated comparisons to other similar websites yielded the same statistics.

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“One needs to bear in mind that electricity consumption is billed a month in arrears, i.e. the consumption in June is levied in July. As per the table above, the winter months’ temperatures are reflected in the months from May until August and hence reflected in the June until September electricity consumption (in red).”

She provided a second table showing the average winter and summer temperatures in respect of the above table:

“As per the above tables, it is clear there is an inverse relationship between the temperatures we experience in Newcastle and the consumption of electricity. The lower the temperatures, the higher the electricity consumption and the higher the temperatures, the lower the electricity consumption. The trend follows the similar pattern over the period from January 2015 until July 2018. This is the case for most of our consumers when one looks at consumption history, provided the number of people living in the household and other variables are constant over the said period.”

A third table reflects the amounts paid to Eskom in respect of the electricity consumption:

According to Haripersad, the table reflected amounts paid to Eskom for actual consumption in that month i.e. the month of July reflected amounts paid for the actual consumption of electricity for July.

The table also reflected the municipality paid more to Eskom during the winter months (in red).

“The above analysis reflects there are no conspiracy theories in respect of the monthly billing, and that they are reflective of the electricity being consumed by households. Newcastle experiences a severe drop in temperatures during the winter period, which lasts for a period of approximately four months and thereafter the temperatures normalise for the other eight months of the year,” she concluded.

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You can also email our offices on Reveshni Douglas at reveshni@caxton.co.za or newsun@caxton.co.za Bruce Douglas at Newed2@caxton.co.za Tersia Gopi at newed@caxton.co.za Zianne Leibrandt at ncschools@caxton.co.za