If you have ever stood at the till on the 28th of the month wondering why R200 of prepaid electricity gave you barely half the units it bought you on the 2nd, you are not imagining things. The vending app is not cheating you. The system is doing exactly what it was designed to do and once you understand it, you can work it to your advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This guide explains how prepaid electricity pricing really works in Gauteng in 2026, when timing your purchase makes a difference, when it doesn’t, and the practical habits that genuinely stretch a token further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If your electricity comes from City Power<\/a> in Johannesburg, the City of Tshwane or the City of Ekurhuleni, you are on what is known as an Inclining Block Tariff<\/a><\/strong>, or IBT. It works like a step ladder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The municipality keeps a running total of the kilowatt-hours (kWh) you buy in each calendar month. The first chunk of units is sold at the cheapest rate. Cross a threshold, and every kWh after that is charged at a higher rate. Cross another threshold, and the rate climbs again. In Ekurhuleni, the top step is severe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The counter resets on the 1st of each month. So R200 spent on the 2nd lands you firmly inside Block 1; the same R200 spent on the 25th, after a month of geysers, kettles, lights and television, often lands inside a more expensive block. Same money, fewer units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That is the whole “units shrink later in the month” puzzle. Nothing dishonest happens at midnight, no app gives better rates on a specific day, and switching vendors does not change the per-kWh price. The system simply remembers what you have already bought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n