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Electricity prices are rising worldwide, but we’re feeling it more here in South Africa than most. We already pay more than most African countries, and that cost just increased again.
Rising monthly bills are raising our cost of living and making it harder for our families to make ends meet. We have far fewer extra Rands in our pockets than we did a few years ago.
Let’s examine how much this increase might affect you and consider some ways you can help reduce its impact on your home.
South Africans Are Experiencing Higher Increases Than Most
Around the world, South Africa ranks among some of the highest per capita energy cost increases of any country. We already pay 250% of what the average Nigerian pays, while Zimbabwe has power that is 97% cheaper than ours. Only nine African countries pay higher tariffs than we do. These figures do not even account for this year’s newest increases.
How Much The Electricity Increase Will Affect You
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) approved a 12.74% increase for the 2024/2025 year. This impacted Eskom customers from April 1 and municipal customers from July 1 this year. This is in addition to the 18.65% increase we had in July of 2023.
How many Rands your bill will increase depends entirely on how much electricity you use. This will depend on the size of your home, how many people live there, your location, how energy efficient your home is, and if you monitor your electricity usage and work to save money on electricity at home.
So, what does this mean in Rands? Well, an average five-member family home in Pretoria consumes about 12,000 kWh annually. Based on last year’s tariffs, their bill would have been about R3,800 ($210 USD) per month or R45,600 ($2,523 USD) per year.
While the increases may vary slightly depending on location, if this family’s bill increased by the 12.74% predicted, this means they will now be paying R4,284 ($237 USD) monthly or nearly R51,410 ($2,845 USD) yearly. That’s about R15,500 ($830 USD) more than they would have paid just a few years ago.
Increased Cost of Living
When your power bills go up, your cost of living increases. If that does not come with an increase in your salary at work, you’ll have less money left each month than you did before. This will be especially challenging for low-income households that are already struggling to make ends meet.
You’re considered energy insecure if you spend more than 10% of your disposable income on power. The more you spend on power, the more your basic welfare is affected because you have less money to pay for food and other necessities. So, anything we can do to save money and reduce our cost of living will help put Rands back in our pockets.
Save With Solar
By incorporating renewable energy like EcoFlow Solar Generators, you can save significant money on your household budget. They harness clean energy from the sun via the photovoltaic effect to generate sustainable electricity. After the solar payback period, when your energy savings pay for the installation, your electricity could be free for 20 years.
The EcoFlow DELTA Series of solar generators is available in sizes to fit any budget, especially with our great winter sales. Even large homes can go off the grid thanks to the expandable capacity of models such as the EcoFlow DELTA 2 Max + 220W Solar Panel and
EcoFlow DELTA Pro + 400W Solar Panel.
This means homes using solar generators can reduce or even eliminate their power bills altogether, achieving energy independence. You also never have to worry about blackouts, load shedding, or storms that damage the electrical grid. You can always keep your household running and your family safe.
For further information on how to save, check out our Cost Savings guide.
Impact on Home Value
If your home isn’t energy efficient, it could lower its desirability in the housing market, lowering its value and likelihood of being sold. Switching to energy-efficient appliances, insulating your home better, and investing in EcoFlow Solar Panels can increase your home’s value.
In fact, installing solar panels has been shown to increase a home’s value by 3-8% and make it sell faster since buyers now prefer homes with green options and backup energy sources.
Final Thoughts
Rising electricity prices impact everyone worldwide, but few more so than in our beautiful South Africa. The increased cost of living and a possible decrease in our home values will affect most of us.
However, there’s a way you can produce free electricity and never worry about soaring energy prices again. Simply invest in an EcoFlow Solar Generator, take advantage of our great winter sales and save even more. Wouldn’t it be nice never to have to pay a power bill again?