KnysnaDo you know how much you pay lor electricity, and how it is charged? – Knysna https://showme.co.za/knysna Knysna, South Africa for all your local and tourism information; from accommodation to events, entertainment, attractions and news - ShowMe Knysna | T Feed Wed, 06 Mar 2024 08:20:00 +0000 hourly 1 https://showme.co.za/knysna/?p=58318 Do you know how much you pay lor electricity, and how it is charged? https://showme.co.za/knysna/news/do-you-know-how-much-you-pay-lor-electricity-and-how-it-is-charged/ Thu, 01 Oct 2020 12:46:34 +0000 Both Knysna and Bitou municipalities have a 'basic charge' depending on how much power is requested (e.g. 30, 40, 60 amps...]]> Both Knysna and Bitou municipalities have a ‘basic charge’ depending on how much power is requested (e.g. 30, 40, 60 amps) irrespective of whether the electricity is used or not.

Electrical energy – which is different from power – is sold by the kilowatt-hour or unit, using the Inclining Block Tariff (IBT) method: the more one uses, the higher the cost per unit.

The municipal accounts of consumers who are not on prepaid meters will show the number of units used in each IBT block. For example, a consumer using 630 units in the month will be charged as per Table 1.

Account consumers’ IBT starts on the date of the last meter reading, whereas prepaid consumers’ accounts start at the beginning of every month.

In Bitou, if R600 electricity is bought at the beginning of the month one obtains 50 Block l units for R58.56. This leaves R54I.44 (of the R600) for Block 2, giving 300 units at a cost of R456.47 so still leaves R84.97 (of the R600) for 39 units in Block 3. A total of 389 units is thus received for your R600.

If further R500 electricity is bought during this same month one will obtain 211 units (to bring the total units purchased in Block 3 to 600), and 13 units in Block 4. The total number of units bought will be 613.

If further units are bought in this month, they will be charged at R2.64 per unit, so R100 will buy you 38 units. Table 2 illustrates this explanation.

In Knysna, prepaid consumers must contend with the basic charge, which is calculated on a daily basis and varies according to the power supply provided, e.g. for a 30-amp I-phase power supply, the charge is R2.85 per day.

Thus, if R600 electricity is purchased and the previous purchase was 10 days earlier, then R28.50 (10 x R2.85) will be the basic charge, leaving R571 .50 available to buy additional electricity units.

This can have significant cost implications when, for example, a consumer did not buy any electricity for a whole year: the basic cost will be R 1,040.25 (viz. 365 x R2.85) before any units are received.

Table 3 indicates the basic charges for electricity, pertaining to the municipality providing the infrastructure and maintaining its network.

The above refers to normal residential electricity supplies. Indigent residents in Bitou receive a 30-amp power supply and a 20-amp supply in Knysna. These are calculated by prepaid meters with no basic charge, and they receive 50 free units per month (paid by the government).

There are other tariffs that apply to commercial and bulk users. In future articles, these aspects will be highlighted, as will energy-saving measures.

• Dave Gyngell has served as Electrical Engineering Manager in both Bitou and Knysna for a period of four years (the last secondment ended in February 2019) and as a result, he has a firm understanding of electrical costs charged.

Source: CX-press News

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