For most Randburg households, the new tariffs mean a straightforward increase of 9.01% on their electricity bills, in line with the rise in Eskom’s bulk purchase costs.
This applies to the majority of residential and business categories, including domestic three-phase customers and standard prepaid users. Some residents will feel the pinch slightly less. Domestic single-phase customers on 60A will see a smaller rise of 5.91%, while those on the residential prepaid high tariff, the most common category in the area, face an average increase of 8.71%, rather than the full 9.01%.

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General manager of the department of public relations and communication in City Power Isaac Mangena said this was achieved by moderating the increase to fixed charges, rather than energy charges. In practical terms, the monthly service charge for these customers stays at R70, while the network capacity charge rises by R10, from R130 to R140. For a prepaid high households, using 450kWh a month, this works out to a total monthly bill of R1 559.79, an increase of R121.58 on the previous tariff.

Mangena said, in the Randburg service delivery centre area, which covers the greater Randburg region, “there are 16 931 customers on this prepaid high tariff, making it by far the dominant category locally. Only 57 households in the area are registered on the prepaid low, or indigent, tariff, which carries stronger protections.

“Those customers remain exempt from the R70 service charge and R140 capacity charge altogether, and continue to receive free basic electricity of between 50kWh and 120kWh a month, depending on household size and income. Residents who believe they may qualify, including pensioners, people with disabilities, unemployed residents, or those earning R7 800 or less a month, are encouraged to register at City of Johannesburg regional offices.”

Beyond billing, City Power has pointed to spending plans that should matter directly to Randburg residents. Around R40m has been set aside for medium voltage cable replacements in Olivedale, Northriding, Bromhof, Northgate, and Johannesburg North, work the utility says will improve supply reliability in those areas. A further R38m will go towards replacing ageing DC systems, protection relays, and expanding telecommunications infrastructure across the network. This is likely to be of particular interest to residents in Bromhof, where outages have been a recurring complaint.

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City Power confirmed that the local switching station is operating close to its installed capacity, which has contributed to the problem, and said a project to expand that capacity is underway alongside the planned cable replacements. The utility stopped short of promising an end to outages, saying no electricity provider can guarantee faults will never happen, but said the investments should improve reliability and reduce equipment failures over time.

For now, the message from City Power to Randburg residents is twofold: Bills are going up, but by less than in several other major metros, and some of the additional revenue is earmarked for upgrades in the area’s own ageing network.

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