Which City Power tariff are you on?
The plans above cover the City Power household tariffs included in this guide. Match the exact plan and supply size on your account; do not select a cheaper plan unless you are registered for it.
- Residential Prepaid High. The standard prepaid tariff for most homes with a City Power token meter. You pay three stepped energy rates (290.46, 333.18 and 379.64 c/kWh, excluding VAT) plus a R70 service charge and a R140 capacity charge each month. Those fixed charges apply every month, so they weigh more heavily on a small user's price per kWh.
- Residential Prepaid Low. Energy only, with no service or capacity charge, but the top block is dearer at 413.06 c/kWh. The City's budget says it is only for indigent customers on prepaid and conventional "lifeline" customers. If you are not registered as indigent, you are almost certainly on Prepaid High.
- Residential Conventional Two-Part. For post-paid (credit) meters, billed monthly. The energy blocks start at 288.27 c/kWh, but the fixed charges are much larger and depend on your supply size: R235.79 service plus R694.58 network charge for a single-phase 60A supply, or up to R304.12 plus R1,227.18 for three-phase 80A. Your bill shows the supply size.
The source figures in this article are published excluding VAT. The comparison above adds VAT and the 6 c/kWh network surcharge on units after the first 500 each month (2026/27 budget book, section 12, PDF p76). The consumer plan cards show VAT-inclusive rates; their expandable notes preserve the original published basis.
A source inconsistency to check against your account: the published prepaid tables use boundaries of 350 and 500 units, but rule 1.7.17 in the same budget book refers to an initial 500-unit block. Our estimates follow the published tables. Ask City Power to confirm how your meter is configured if your purchases do not match.
One check before anything else: living inside the Joburg metro does not make you a City Power customer. Some areas are supplied directly by Eskom and pay Eskom's tariffs instead. If your bill or token slip says Eskom, use the Eskom rows on the national tariff tracker.
What changed on 1 July 2026
NERSA approved a 9.01% increase in the price Eskom charges municipalities for bulk electricity from 1 July 2026 (NERSA statement, 12 March 2026). That figure is what Eskom charges the City, not a cap on what the City charges you.
The City's approved 2026/27 tariff infographic puts City Power's overall average increase at 8.63%. For Prepaid High, the published detail is:
| Prepaid High item | 2025/26 | 2026/27 |
|---|
| Block 1 (0 to 350 kWh) | 266.45 c/kWh | 290.46 c/kWh |
| Block 2 (350 to 500 kWh) | 305.64 c/kWh | 333.18 c/kWh |
| Block 3 (above 500 kWh) | 348.26 c/kWh | 379.64 c/kWh |
| Service charge | R70.00 | R70.00 |
| Capacity charge | R130.00 | R140.00 |
The energy rates rose 9.01%, the capacity charge rose R10, and the City's own 800 kWh example bill went up 8.71%. In the budget book's increase table, the single-phase 60A conventional tariff was held to 5.91% to rebalance fixed and usage charges.
Solar in Johannesburg: the rules that change your sums
Registration comes first
City Power's guide to household solar installations (28 October 2024) sets out the process:
- Get a Notification Number from the City by completing the Electricity Supply application form.
- Email your application to City Power's SSEG department at [email protected], with a single line diagram, the inverter datasheet and inverter NRS certificate, design drawings, a site plan, a maintenance procedure, the PV commissioning form and a Certificate of Compliance.
- City Power arranges a site inspection, then issues a pre-approval letter and finally an approval letter once the commissioning form and CoC are in.
The tariff conditions say the embedded generator must register with City Power and use equipment that meets its technical standards. The inverter NRS certificate is the NRS 097-2-1 certification that grid-tied inverters carry, so check your inverter has one before you buy. For the national picture, see our SSEG registration guide.
You move off prepaid
This is the part many Joburg buyers miss. The 2026/27 embedded generator conditions (Annexure B, p82 and p98) say residential customers who install embedded generation must be on a time-of-use conventional tariff, and prepaid customers must migrate. City Power's guide says the same thing in plainer words: homes with solar are converted to post-paid so they "contribute towards network service fee like all other customers". A bi-directional or smart meter is installed at your cost.
That matters because conventional tariffs carry far higher fixed charges than Prepaid High's R210. The only residential time-of-use tariff in the 2026/27 schedule is three-phase 80A, with R304.12 service and R1,227.18 network charges a month before VAT. Switching costs R658.00 excluding VAT (R756.70 including) where your meter is smart-ready, or R1,268.00 (R1,458.20 including) where it must be changed (Annexure F, items 1.06 and 1.07).
What exported power earns
The residential embedded generator energy charge for 2026/27 is 124.60 c/kWh (excluding VAT), for registered customers who remain net consumers. That is well under half of what you pay to import, so the money in Joburg solar comes from using your own power, not selling it.
Worked example: a 600 kWh home on Prepaid High
SolarGuide calculation from the published 350/500-unit block tables, including the network surcharge and VAT. Charges rechecked 23 October 2026.
| Item | Calculation | Amount |
|---|
| Block 1 | 350 kWh × 290.46 c | R1,016.61 |
| Block 2 | 150 kWh × 333.18 c | R499.77 |
| Block 3 | 100 kWh × 379.64 c | R379.64 |
| Network surcharge | 100 kWh above 500 × 6 c | R6.00 |
| Service and capacity charges | R70 + R140 | R210.00 |
| Subtotal excluding VAT | | R2,112.02 |
| VAT at 15% | | R316.80 |
| Total for the month | | R2,428.82 |
That works out to an estimated R4.05 average per kWh, including the listed electricity charges. It is not the rate charged for each extra unit or an audit of account-specific deductions.
If solar covered 300 kWh and nothing else changed, the units you stop buying are the most expensive ones: 100 kWh at 379.64 c, 150 kWh at 333.18 c and 50 kWh at 290.46 c. Avoiding the surcharge on those last 100 units adds R6 before VAT. The total is R1,030.64 before VAT, or R1,185.24 a month including VAT.
What happens under the registration rules. That figure assumes you stay on Prepaid High, which City Power's conditions don't allow once you register. As a rough illustration, the same home using 300 kWh from the grid on the single-phase 60A conventional tariff would pay 300 × 288.27 c = R864.81, plus R930.37 in fixed charges, plus VAT: R2,064.46. That is about R364 a month less than the prepaid example. Your real tariff after the switch depends on your supply and on what City Power assigns.
The lesson for sizing: in Joburg, fixed charges can eat much of a modest system's saving. A system that covers more of your daytime and evening use, usually with a battery, spreads those fixed charges over a bigger saving. Ask any installer to model your bill on the tariff you will move to, not the one you are on now. Our payback guide shows how to read those numbers.
Your next step
- See how many panels your roof can take with the solar roof-fit calculator.
- If a geyser is a big part of your bill, price it first with the geyser cost calculator.
- Compare City Power with other metros and Eskom on the 2026/27 tariff tracker, and read our Johannesburg solar guide for local installation detail.
Alumo installs, finances and warrants the systems; SolarGuide helps you compare and get a free quote. Alumo's rent-to-own Watt-a-Deal starts from R1,449 a month over seven years (with 6.5% annual escalation), and subscriptions start from R1,499 a month. Both are worth setting against your post-switch City Power bill, not your current one.
Get a free solar quote →
Frequently asked questions
How much is City Power prepaid electricity per unit in 2026/27?
On Residential Prepaid High, units cost 290.46 c/kWh for the first 350 kWh, 333.18 c/kWh from 350 to 500 kWh and 379.64 c/kWh above that, all excluding VAT. Including VAT that is about R3.34, R3.83 and R4.37 per kWh. You also pay R210 a month in fixed charges (R241.50 with VAT).
What is the City Power fixed charge?
On Prepaid High it is a R70 service charge plus a R140 capacity charge a month, excluding VAT. On conventional tariffs it depends on supply size: R235.79 plus R694.58 for single-phase 60A, R304.12 plus R985.11 for single-phase 80A, and R304.12 plus R1,227.18 for three-phase 80A. Prepaid Low has no fixed charge but is limited to indigent and lifeline customers.
Does City Power pay for solar power I export?
Registered residential embedded generators who stay net consumers are credited 124.60 c/kWh (excluding VAT) for 2026/27. You need a bi-directional meter, and City Power's conditions say you must be on a time-of-use conventional tariff.
Can I keep my prepaid meter if I install solar in Johannesburg?
Not under City Power's published rules. The 2026/27 conditions require residential embedded generators to migrate to time-of-use conventional billing, and City Power's solar guide says solar customers are converted to post-paid.
Why did my Joburg prepaid units go down in July 2026?
From 1 July all three energy blocks rose 9.01% and the monthly capacity charge went from R130 to R140, so the same rand amount buys fewer units. Units above 350 kWh and 500 kWh in a month cost more again, because of the stepped blocks.
Sources and review note
Electricity charges and worked examples rechecked on 23 October 2026. Other source material retains its 21 October review. Tariffs, fixed charges, the network surcharge, embedded generator conditions and fees come from the City of Johannesburg Medium-Term Budget 2026/27 to 2028/29 (Annexure B pp80 to 82 and 88 to 89, sections 10 to 12, Annexure F p104). The 8.63% average and the 2025/26 comparison come from the City's approved 2026/27 electricity tariff infographic. The registration steps come from City Power's household solar installation guide (28 October 2024), and the bulk increase from NERSA's 12 March 2026 statement. Worked examples are SolarGuide calculations using VAT at 15%, not quotes. Your bill may differ with your supply size, any arrears and the tariff City Power assigns.