Consumers who have been struggling to make ends meet could now even consider switching over to solar energy to navigate electricity tariff hikes, with further increases being expected during the upcoming winter.
The tariff consumers have to pay is set to increase on 1 July, following the hike that municipalities experienced themselves on 1 April.
Tariff hikes came after the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) approved a 9,6% tariff increase for electricity this financial term, which is lower than last year’s 14,59% hike.
According to Zania Hartman, regional general manager at Momentum Free State, a mind shift is necessary to manage one’s budget.
“The purpose of a budget is to control your expenses; it dictates how you spend your money instead of you wondering where it has all gone at the end of the month,” explained Hartman.
“However, there’s no point in trying to track every rand and cent, for example keeping a record of your monthly water and lights bill, unless you also change your spending behaviour.”
The following steps can be considered to reduce high electricity costs:
- replace an electric geyser with a solar powered one;
- replace an electric stove with a gas one, which is much more economical; and
- do not use the geyser for more than two to four hours a day.
