Communal electrical charges now apply. How does it work?

After the December electricity usage spike, a proposal was brought forward by the body corporate to implement a fixed comm water and comm electricity charge. This decision came after residents received a hefty comm electricity bill exceeding R400.

The decision was laid forth at the annual general meeting held on the {date} a motion was passed to implement a fixed charge for comm water and comm electricity. This charge was carefully calculated and fixed at R50 for comm water and R160 for comm electricity.

How are communal water and electricity calculated?

ComElect on your levy statement: This is not just the electricity used by the common area i.e. Guardhouse, security systems and common lights on the property. It is a small part of it indeed, but not the total amount. This is calculated and derived directly from the Mogale City Bill we get monthly, and the Total amount paid over by our Pre-paid meter vendor. These two amounts are subtracted from each other, and the difference derived from that is divided by the 119 units to give the total ComElect that reflects on your statement. On the Mogale bill we have the following:

·        Low Voltage Fixed charge -This is a fixed amount monthly that we pay in order to be connected to Mogale and for them to provide us with electricity.

·        Domestic Low Voltage kwh- This is the units of electricity used by the whole complex as read directly from the Electricity Box outside the complex by Mogale. Remember Mogale still provide us with electricity, but our purchase of electricity is facilitated through our Pre-Paid vendor which gives you a token to recharge on your meter. But they don’t supply the electricity they are just a vendor. 

·        ⁠Domestic Demand kva- this is the problematic one. We are charged on Demand for electricity, meaning that Mogale calculates an average electricity usage of the complex- when this average usage gets exceeded they charge us extra because the demand is high—- this will happen between certain peak times i.e. from 06:00-10:00 and 16:30 - 19:00 when people use a lot of electricity and also a big factor is loadshedding, if we have loadshedding and the power comes back on imagine if you will, 119 units that has geysers going on at once to warm up, washing machines, people start cooking etc. Then the demand is very high and it exceeds the average. We unfortunately get charged for that.

When it comes to ComWater we take the amount on the Mogale bill and subtract the total of all the combined water readings of each individual unit and divide that by 119 units. And that gives you the Com Water on your statement.