Ramokgopa Distances Ministry from Controversial Prepaid Electricity Surcharge by CoJ

The Minister of Energy and Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, clarified that his department is not involved in the draft budget proposal for 2025/26 put forth by the City of Johannesburg. This proposal suggests raising the prepaid electricity service charge from R200 to R270 monthly, and Ramokgopa emphasized that this decision falls outside his jurisdiction.

“Municipalities are granted original powers as per the Constitution; they alone hold the authority to impose tariffs for reticulation and redistribution,” Ramokgopa stated during a media briefing regarding Eskom’s winter outlook on Monday.

Read:
Tariff shock as City Power rolls out R200 prepaid charge [Jul 2024]
Heavy burden on Joburg’s poor with steep new electricity price hikes [Jun 2024]
Joburg’s R6.6bn water and electricity loss scandal [Jun 2024]

“This issue does not fall under the ministry’s responsibilities or those of Eskom,” Ramokgopa reaffirmed.

“The City of Johannesburg and its legislative body will take into account all public submissions during the budget approval process.”

Launched in July 2024, the surcharge has been met with significant opposition due to rising concerns about electricity prices.

The surcharge is a fixed fee implemented to ensure revenue availability for ongoing service provision, infrastructure maintenance, and upgrades to electricity supply for residents.

The advocacy group Outa has been actively opposing this surcharge, claiming it will have adverse financial effects on vulnerable communities and should be repealed.

In the 2019/20 fiscal year, the city council withdrew the proposed R200 surcharge for prepaid electricity users following backlash from civil organizations and advocacy groups.

Moneyweb reported that the city acknowledged the financial difficulties faced by consumers and attributed its decision to increasing living costs, reduced disposable income, and a sluggish economy.

Winter outlook

Eskom CEO Dan Marokane also spoke to the media on Monday, noting that the power utility does not anticipate any load shedding during the winter season, provided unplanned losses stay below 13 gigawatts.

If unplanned losses reach 15 gigawatts, there could be a maximum of 21 days of up to Stage 2 load shedding.

He mentioned that the nine months without load shedding was “not just luck” but a result of enhanced operations and the availability of their fleet.

Read: Eskom sees decreased load shedding risk as demand rises [May 2025]

Before concluding its streak, Eskom achieved 300 consecutive days without load shedding—the longest period since 2018.

“We now understand that 96% of the time, we can meet demand, despite some disruptions, especially from January to April this year,” Marokane stated.

Nonetheless, the utility is performing better compared to previous years as it continues to bring significant units online.

“We’ll be operating at full capacity as we move through the winter months.”

Hindrances

However, Eskom’s recent progress faces serious challenges, particularly poor revenue collection due to soaring municipal debt, now amounting to R100 billion, and widespread illegal connections.

Read: Eskom ready to start borrowing again

In the 2022/23 fiscal year, Eskom reported non-technical losses of about R5 billion due to illegal connections, meter tampering, and other electricity-related criminal activities within its service area, as stated by the utility.

CoJ meter verification

Meanwhile, the City of Johannesburg announced on Monday that it is enhancing its meter verification initiatives in targeted residential areas to ensure accurate readings. This effort is part of a broader billing optimization project aimed at improving municipal bills for all customers this month.

The city stated that the project aims to provide customers with precise, actual meter readings for their water and electricity services while also aiding in improving revenue collection moving forward.

The residential neighborhoods targeted for verification include Dunkeld, Naturena, Melville, Parktown, Olivedale, and Parkhurst.

“This initiative will significantly aid in addressing customer complaints related to estimated readings,” said Kgamanyane Maphologela, CoJ group finance’s director for communications and stakeholder engagement.

“Full cooperation from our customers is vital to ensure that the project accurately reflects true consumption.”

Read/listen:
Sputla’s flagship municipal power project falters [April 2025]
CoJ faces renewed threat of power cuts as Eskom debt dispute resurfaces [April 2025]

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