SAPVIA urges City of Joburg to scrap disparity in electricity tariffs

By Levy Masiteng

The South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) has called on the City of Johannesburg (COJ) to urgently reassess its electricity tariffs, citing a glaring disparity between prepaid and postpaid customers. 

According to SAPVIA, the current tariff structure is neither fair nor cost-reflective, with postpaid customers paying as much as seven times more in fixed charges than those on prepaid.

An analysis by SAPVIA’s Residential PV Working Group revealed that prepaid customers pay a fixed monthly fee of R230, while postpaid customers are charged R1,615.

“A customer on postpaid using 900 kWh—the average household consumption—will be paying over R1,000 more than a prepaid customer using the same amount,” the association said.

SAPVIA’s assessment is based on three key principles: cost-reflectivity, fairness and equity, and efficiency.

The association argues that the City’s current tariff structure fails on all three fronts.

“It cannot be deemed fair that a user on