"It's Criminal": Cape Town Woman Proves Buying Electricity on 1st of the Month Got Her More Units

• A Cape Town TikToker compared two R250 electricity purchases made just one day apart and was stunned by the difference in units received
• Ashley Kruger found she received 5 fewer units on 30 September compared to buying the same amount on 1 October 2026
• South Africans flooded her comments with explanations about monthly tariff blocks and tips on where to buy electricity for better value

A Cape Town woman decided to put a popular money-saving rumour to the test. Ashley Kruger posted her findings on TikTok on 2 October 2026. The results left many South Africans shaking their heads at their electricity bills.

Kruger compared two Standard Bank SMS confirmations from electricity purchases made just hours apart. Spending R250 on 30 September got her 54 units, while the same R250 spent on 1 October returned 59 units. The difference came down to the service charges. On 30 September, she was charged R21 in fees, compared to just R2 and R14 on 1 October. She said:

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"I guess it's true. Buy your electricity on the first of the month."

Why Your Units Change at Month-End

According to SimCloud, the difference is not simply about the calendar date but about how much electricity a household has already consumed that month. Municipal electricity tariffs are structured in blocks, with cheaper rates applying to the first portion of monthly usage. Once a household crosses a set threshold, each additional unit is charged at a higher rate.

Those blocks reset on the first of every month, meaning early purchases benefit from the lower tariff. By the end of the month, many households have already moved into pricier blocks, which is why the same rand amount buys fewer units. Watch the video by Ashley that sparked the debate:

Mzansi discuss electricity costs

The video drew hundreds of comments from South Africans comparing their own experiences:

@theburingbush8 wrote:

"R250 for 50 units this is madness!!!"

@Poging explained:

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"It's not about when in the month you buy electricity. It's about when you reach each usage threshold. As your monthly kWh usage increases, you move into higher tariff blocks. The counter resets on the 1st of every month."

@Sebz shared:

"I bought mine today for R200 and got 54 units plus 50 free units from the Capitec app."

@So_Amanokazimu added:

"I stopped buying electricity from the bank app. I get more units when I buy from the grocery store. I'm based in CoT [City of Tshwane]."

@BabyGirl asked:

"First of all, where do you stay cause R200 gets me 79 units."

@chaddoooo_ summed it up simply:

"It's criminal!"

@Thabang Curtis Mallela offered a thorough breakdown:

"Electricity is cheaper on the 1st because electricity block tariffs reset on the 1st of every month. You start back in the cheapest tariff block. So it doesn't matter when you buy, but how much you've bought for the month so far."

Other Briefly News stories about electricity costs

• Author and social commentator Jackie Phamotse took to social media to voice her outrage over exorbitant electricity tariffs and rapid token depletion.
• A viral comparison of peak versus off-peak electricity rates sparked intense outrage on social media as South Africans examined their monthly power bills.
• South Africans were grateful for an informative breakdown detailing the Free Basic Electricity (FBE) allocation available to low-income households across Johannesburg, Cape Town, eThekwini, and Tshwane.

Source: Briefly News