How many units for R100?

How the units are worked out

Each figure is what the money buys on a municipality’s prepaid tariff for an ordinary home, with 15% VAT. Where a municipality has more than one, it’s the one that costs least for a month of 500 kWh, as on our bill pages. Tariffs only for indigent households, pensioners and others who must qualify are left out here, and shown on each municipality’s page.

Units get dearer during the month. Most municipalities sell electricity in blocks: the first units each month are the cheapest, and the price goes up as you buy more. The blocks start again on the first of every month. So the same R100 buys fewer units once you’ve already bought a lot that month, however you split your purchases.

Fixed charges come first. Many municipalities also charge a fixed amount every month, whatever you use. Your prepaid purchases pay it before they buy units, so the first purchase of the month buys fewer units, or none at all if it doesn’t cover the charge.

Winter can cost more. Some municipalities charge more from June to August. These figures are for November 2026.

No prepaid tariff open to every home in the 2026/27 decision: Buffalo City, Kgetlengrivier, Laingsburg, Mthonjaneni, Thembelihle, uMkhanyakude District, uPhongolo, Vleesbaai. Each page says what there is.

Not here yet: City Power (Johannesburg). We add each distributor as its 2026/27 tariffs come in.

Homes that Eskom supplies directly aren’t covered for now: Eskom’s price schedule can’t be republished under its terms. NERSA approved an average increase of 8.76% for Eskom’s own customers from 1 April 2026, in its decision of 5 March 2026.

Source: NERSA decisions on each distributor’s tariffs for 2026/27, which run from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. In parts of most municipalities, Eskom supplies homes directly.