Are electricity prices also burning a hole in your budget? My old flat had a solar geyser, and my new flat’s heat pump runs on electricity. The difference in my electricity bill has been staggering.
How are you budgeting and coping with this?
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I am on prepaid meter so i guess i cope by sticking my fingers in my ears and going “I CANT HEAR YOU!”.
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I’m a month into experimenting with a Plentify HotBot smart geyser controller and have saved R200 already - well, that’s what it tells me on the app. That plus knowing exactly how much electricity you’re leaking through plugged in chargers and other IoT devices makes a massive difference.
HotBot™ by Plentify - Save energy and control your geyser from anywhere - Plentify
Ngl, running UPS/inverters/EcoFlows that constantly discharge and recharge put a sizeable load on the electricity bill, but they are a godsend when loadshedding hits.
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Also, “coping” is a strong word… Hardly coping, just white knuckling
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This really hurts to think about, as I don’t have much choice in the matter. I’ve been cutting down on electricity usage as much as possible, to the point where my fixed charges are now more than my usage. I’m paying R2652 for 425kWh, which works out to R6.24 per kWh 
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We installed solar in 2021. Not totally off-grid, but we still pay a max of R1800 pm for a three-person household in winter. In summer, it goes down to about R800. I can’t even imagine what it would be like without the benefit of solar.
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I have a solar geyser, it works well in summer, not so well in the depths of winter.
I have been watching the price of LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas). It is currently very close to the price per Kilowatt Hour I am paying for electricity. The advantage of a gas water heater is that in only heats the water you use.
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Most households cannot afford to install solar to off-grid levels, installation costs are heavy and battery costs even more so. We could take a leaf out of the German experience of ‘Balkonkraft’. This is not a solar power solution but simply a cost effective supplementary measure, intended for flat-dwellers. The system uses up to 3 solar panels with a built-in MPPT and small scale inverter, putting out a constant 180W per kit all day long (the power limitation is a German state legislated limit, RSA would be different e.g. saffers commonly plug in a 5kW generator into wall sockets during load shedding). It is designed to stand on your sunny balcony and supplement your daily usage. The best part is that it simply plugs into a wall socket and automatically synchronises with the grid. The grid carries the heavy loads such as a fridge starting current but the system takes over from there. Of course electric stoves and geysers draw mainly from the grid but the system discounts your usage. There can be several systems plugged in all at once to increase the effect. No installer, no certifications, no batteries, no debt. With a little Safrican ingenuity we could take this idea very far.
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In the years 2011-2014, my average bill from Eskom was less than R1500/month. In the years 2021-2024 it rose to just under R2900/month. That’s a 93% increase. Average inflation over the ten years would be closer to 63%. And now, Eskom says NERSA made a mistake and the consumers must make up a shortfall of R54 billion! What would you sacrifice, to keep the lights on?
I turned off my geyser. It made a huge difference. Now I hand wash with heated waterfom the ketle
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We are 3 adults in the house. In summer we manage well on the solar powered geyser. There is usually enough hot water in the evenings to be able to wash the dishes and each have a warm shower. In winter it’s slightly more challenging because although the panels are well-placed, with no shading from surrounding trees etc., we just don’t have enough sun days in winter.
We manage by having an indoor fire with real firewood on most days. It warms the house and we don’t have or use electric or gas heaters. If it’s been cold and wet for days, we switch the geyser on for about half an hour which is just enough to each have a warm shower. For dishwashing, if the geyser is not going to be switched on, we boil water on the gas stove to wash up.
Thusfar we aren’t seeing much of a difference, and we’re in Cape Town.
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The last two months my bill has been less than 3K - and I don’t get any concessions from the City.
OK there are some qualifiers:
- We have the magic combination of solar and pre-paid.
- We are careful with water. As there are just two of us we are often able to come in under the 6Kl per month free allocation.
In Johannesburg, for properties supplied by City Power, a pre-paid meter still saves a handy amount of money each month. Unfortunately the City is not processing applications right now, but when they resume, Y’all should apply.