The capacity charge is a monthly fee based on the size of your electricity connection (for example 30 A, 40 A, 50 A or 60 A). It is payable regardless of how much electricity you use during the month.

Why is this necessary?

• The Municipality must ensure that sufficient network capacity is available to supply your property whenever it is needed.
• The Municipality pays Eskom for access to electricity network capacity, including during periods when demand is lower.
• Larger electricity connections require more capacity to be reserved on the network.
• These costs exist regardless of the number of units consumed.

Your capacity charge therefore reflects the maximum demand that can be supplied to your property, rather than your monthly electricity consumption.

The benefit to consumers is that they can reduce their monthly costs by selecting a connection size that better matches their actual needs.

When residents reduce peak demand and choose appropriately sized connections, it helps delay costly network upgrades and contributes to a more sustainable electricity network for the entire community.

APPLIANCE GUIDE
Your connection size does NOT determine how much electricity you can buy. It determines how many appliances you can run at the same time.

30 Amp (~ 6,9 kW):
Best for basic households. Runs a fridge, TV, Wi-Fi router and lights, microwave, kettle and washing machine.
Tip: Avoid running the kettle, oven and geyser all at once.
Using a 3 kW geyser or stove will heavily restrict what else you can turn on.

40 Amp (~ 9,2 kW):
Suitable for medium households. Runs a fridge/freezer, lights and
electronics, washing machine, dishwasher, kettle, microwave/small air fryer and a geyser (if managed carefully).
Tip: Do not run the oven, geyser, and kettle at the exact same time.

50 Amp (~ 11,5 kW)
Best for typical modern homes. Runs a fridge, lights and electronics,
washing machine, dishwasher, geyser, microwave, kettle and occasionally an electric oven. Offers comfortable usage with less risk of tripping.

60 Amp (~ 13,8 kW)
Suitable for larger families or high-usage homes. Allows multiple heating appliances (geyser, oven, kettle, heaters/AC) to run at the same time without needing to carefully manage your timing.

KNOW THIS
1. Heating appliances (kettle, geyser, oven) are the biggest load drivers
2. Motors (fridges, pumps) spike briefly when starting
3. Higher amp supply = less need to ‘manage’ usage timing
4. Lower amp supply = careful load management needed

Read more on the HOW TO INFORMATION GUIDE, available on the municipal website under the Electricity tab or click here.