Many residents receive their monthly municipal statement, check the amount due and move on.
However, your statement contains important information about your property, municipal services and how your account is calculated. In addition to your name, address, erf number, property size and ward councillor details, your municipal statement provides a detailed breakdown of the charges applicable to your property.
These charges typically include:
- Property rates based on the municipal valuation of your property
- Water consumption charges
- Electricity consumption charges
- Sewerage charges
- Refuse removal charges
- Fixed charges that contribute towards maintaining and operating the infrastructure required to deliver these services to your home
Charges vary based on factors such as property value, service usage and connection size. (The only exception to this structure applies to
qualifying indigent households whose properties have been valued at less than R350 000 and who may qualify for various forms of municipal assistance.) Cost items to watch.
WATER (SLIDING SCALE)
Usage (kℓ): 0 and 6 kℓ as well as 19 and 45 kℓ (Cheapest rate and Highest rate)
ELECTRICITY
(inclining block tariffs & connection size)
Electricity usage is billed in accordance with an inclining block tariff structure. In addition, your electricity connection size impacts both the capacity and basic charges levied against your account each month.
PREPAID VS. CREDIT METERS
For residential customers, it is also useful to understand the differences between prepaid and conventional credit electricity accounts.
While charges vary depending on the type of connection and meter configuration, the general rule remains: lower consumption and smaller connection sizes result in lower overall costs.
Understanding the information on your municipal statement can help you monitor consumption, manage household costs and identify opportunities to use services more efficiently.
