Residents will be relieved to know that the City of Johannesburg will not be implementing the fixed surcharge for prepaid electricity as adopted by Council recently.
According to City of Johannesburg’s MMC for Finance, Funzela Ngobeni, the fixed surcharge of R200 per month for prepaid residential and R402 per month for prepaid business users was approved by council as part of the annual tariff increases.
The approved surcharge aimed to better align pre-paid tariffs to conventional tariffs and was due to be implemented on 1 July. However, this has been suspended pending further engagement with all relevant stakeholders.
Residents are already burdened by increasing interest rates, pressure on household disposable income and the sluggish economy.
“We heard the voices of the residents through submissions made during the public meetings. While we consider the tariffs to be cost-reflective, we cannot ignore the calls for relief by our residents. Following significant consultation, we have addressed the issues through increased internal efficiencies and passed this benefit onto our customers,” said Ngobeni.
The City’s overall adopted tariffs demonstrate significant benefits for residents, as the tariff increases are within the inflation target or below what NERSA, Eskom and Rand Water had proposed.
Ngobeni mentioned that the City remains cognisant of the tough economic times and is fully aware that many residents struggle to keep up with their municipal rates and services accounts.
“In an effort to provide relief to the most vulnerable of our residents, the City offers a basket of rebates for rates and services under its Expanded Social Package programme. Over and above this, the City will be implementing a debt rehabilitation programme. The broad concept of the programme hinges on an application process that will allow strained household owners to apply for municipal debt rehabilitation,” he added.
Qualifying residents will receive immediate relief through a write-off of 50 per cent of their debt. If the resident complies with all the requirements of the programme, which includes keeping the current accounts up to date and allowing for regular inspection of metered services, then the remaining outstanding debt will be written off over a three-year period.
During the month of August, the City will embark on a city-wide educational roadshow. The debt rehabilitation application process is set to start in September.
