With Winter in full force in the Cape (even though it doesn’t seem like it most days), electrical bills are skyrocketing, with citizens claiming that their bills “almost doubled”, but why is this?

According to the Cape Argus, there are four distinct reasons why bills are particularly high this month.

First, it’s winter, and the city sells far more electricity in winter, which means that the average Cape Town home uses significantly more too.

Second, the City of Cape Town increased electricity rates across the board by an average of 7.63 percent on July 1.

Third, also as of July 1, the city moved many customers between its two residential tariffs, the “lifeline tariff” and the “domestic tariff”.

Fourth, every July 1, the city also moves households between the “lifeline tariff” and the “domestic tariff”, depending on whether their average monthly unit usage is above or below 450 units. This is typically calculated between May 1 and April 30, but it can vary.

The calculation is always over a consecutive 12-month period to provide an accurate average not influenced by seasonal changes in consumption. This applies only to customers with a prepaid meter.

Check out the full story on iol.