An escalating Eskom bill the municipality cannot control
Dr Beyers Naudé Local Municipality purchases 117.37 GWh of bulk electricity every year across nine supply points — at full Eskom MunicFlex tariffs, with no generation or storage of its own.
Diagnosing the cost
The data exposes a structural pricing problem: the most expensive energy is concentrated in the Peak period, and it is punished hardest during the High-Demand Season.
Where the energy goes
Annual bulk consumption of 117.37 GWh by Time-of-Use period.
- Off-Peak50.43 GWh
- Standard47.71 GWh
- Peak19.24 GWh
The peak tariff problem
Eskom MunicFlex rate per kWh by period (Rand).
Monthly Eskom bill — current state
Bulk electricity cost over 12 months (R millions). High-Demand months shaded coral.
Why it matters
A seasonal cost spike
High-Demand Season months (June–November) carry dramatically higher bills because the HDS Peak tariff (R6.47/kWh) is 2.4× the Low-Demand Season Peak rate.
Exposure with no defence
Every kWh is bought from Eskom. The municipality has no way to shift, store, or self-generate energy to avoid the most expensive tariff windows.
Above-inflation escalation
Eskom tariffs have historically escalated near 9% per year — compounding the burden on the municipality’s budget every single year.