The cheapest time of the month to buy electricity
Here's a hack to help you pay less for electricity…
You might have noticed that you get more units of electricity at the beginning of the month than you do at the end of the month for the same amount of money.
The reason for this is due to what is referred to as block or step tariffs
What are block tariffs?
According to Prepaid24, block tariffs were implemented as a way to incentivise residents who consume less electricity per month.
"This came as a result of Eskom's generation challenges and the fact that Eskom penalises municipalities for putting too much strain on its capacity and delivery," said the prepaid electricity service.
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Basically, block tariffs work by making electricity units more expensive the more you buy, moving consumers into higher brackets as their usage increases.
Here is an example of municipal unit brackets from the City of Cape Town in 2023/24:
- Block 1: 0 – 50 kWh (R2.67/kWh)
- Block 2: 50.1 – 350 kWh (R2.98/kWh)
- Block 3: >350.1 kWh (R3.10/kWh)
Clearing up the myth
Social media content creator Kara-Jayne Seynisch, who shares money management advice, recently broke it down.
Seynisch said that the biggest myth is that electricity costs more at the end of the month than at the beginning of the month.
She added that this belief is actually due to the tariff blocks.
According to Seynisch, if your household manages to stay within the first "bracket" on unit tariffs, it doesn't matter when you buy your electricity; you will still pay the same rate per unit.
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The problem arises when you run out of units and buy more at the end of the month.
If you buy too many units, you risk being pushed into the second bracket, which means you’ll pay more per unit.
"What you don't want to do is buy R2,000 worth of electricity at the beginning of the month and then run out on the 25th [of the month], only to buy another R2,000 again," Seynisch said.
She warned that this will push you into the second bracket because you’re likely purchasing enough units to fall into that higher bracket.
Instead, if you run out of electricity near the end of the month, buy just enough units to last you until the month ends.
Watch here:
Seynisch's Summary on How to Save Money
Here's a quick summary of Seynisch's advice:
- Buy all (or most) of your expected monthly usage at the beginning of the month to maximise low-block units.
- Only purchase what you’ll use in that month to avoid carryover waste.
- Avoid buying in bulk for multiple months ahead; this skips the monthly reset and pushes you into higher blocks faster, reducing value.
- Your consumption counter resets to zero at the start of each calendar month (e.g., on the 1st), so you always begin in the cheapest Block 1.
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