The hidden cost of power cuts: South Africans could be paying R300 more a month

Johannesburg – South African homeowners could be unknowingly adding about R300 a month to their electricity bills because of appliances that reset or change their operating patterns after power interruptions, according to an analysis by utilities company Fungi.

BusinessTech reports that Fungi analysed more than 400 million meter readings from almost 3,900 homes across Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and KwaZulu-Natal. The August 2026 data showed that abnormal electricity consumption above a household’s normal overnight baseline can accumulate into a significant additional cost.

Fungi general manager Matthew Koller said an average household’s overnight electricity baseline of about 0.45kWh can help identify unusual consumption. The baseline typically covers appliances and equipment that remain active, including Wi-Fi routers, security systems, electric-fence energisers, fridges and geysers operating on timers or thermostats.

“Resets are important indicators that larger loads are switching on, running for longer than expected or operating at the wrong time,” Koller said, according to BusinessTech.

The problem 

The analysis found that appliances can behave differently after a power interruption or when a household’s main breaker is switched off and power restored.

A geyser that normally consumed about 354 watts, for example, rose to around 370 watts after a reset, while a tumble dryer recorded a larger 542-watt spike.

The problem can become more costly when several appliances restart at the same time. Timers can also lose their settings or return to factory defaults, potentially causing geysers, pumps and heating equipment to operate simultaneously.

Koller warned that running appliances overnight does not necessarily result in cheaper electricity.

“Running a heavy appliance after midnight doesn’t automatically make it cheaper – it really just hides it from view,” he said.

Fixed service and administration charges

The warning comes as South African households face another round of electricity price increases. NERSA approved an average 9.01% increase for municipal electricity customers for 2026/27, while Eskom’s direct customers received an average 8.76% increase from April.

Eskom has also shifted a larger portion of some residential tariffs towards fixed service and administration charges, adding to the changing cost structure faced by households.

Koller recommends that homeowners start by checking geyser timers, thermostats and heating elements, followed by pool, borehole and circulation pumps. Households should also monitor their overnight electricity baseline over several days and investigate sustained increases.

The findings highlight how South Africans can face rising electricity costs not only from higher tariffs, but also from inefficient or incorrectly configured appliances operating unnoticed after power interruptions.