These increases stem from municipalities passing on Eskom’s higher electricity costs to consumers.

Buffalo City has raised electricity tariffs by 12.74%, eThekwini by 10.2%, Cape Town by 13.4%, and Johannesburg’s City Power by 12.41%. As a result, consumers are expected to pay an additional $14.21 to $18.76 per month for electricity.

Investec Chief Economist Annabel Bishop says these increases will push inflation higher in July. “CPI inflation is expected to rise above 3% after running below 3% in the second quarter of this year. Currently, inflation is at 2.8%, we expect it to rise to 3.1% in July,” she said.

Bishop noted that although inflation would rise, it would remain within the Reserve Bank’s 3%–6% target range. “Even at 3.1%, it's at the lower end of the target band with the midpoint at 4.5%. We don’t expect another interest rate cut in July,” she added.

City Power says it is working to shield low-income and indigent households from the brunt of the hikes. Frank Hinda, Senior Manager for Pricing and Tariff structures, said different customer categories would see varied increases based on cost-of-supply studies.

Residential customers face increasing block tariffs, where prices rise with increased usage. However, indigent households remain on the lowest tariff blocks and are exempt from the $11.37 basic charge applicable to other consumers.

According to Statistics South Africa, electricity price increases between 1994 and 1999 were typically below inflation. However, since the start of loadshedding in 2007, tariff hikes have consistently exceeded overall consumer inflation.

--SABC/ChannelAfrica--