City Power Vend Calculator

Johannesburg residents: see exactly what your next prepaid electricity purchase will actually buy you, VAT and arrears recovery included. Verified 2026/27 tariffs.

Units Received
44.91kWh
You vend
R300.00
VAT (15%)
-R39.13
Debt Recovery
-R130.43
Available for Electricity
R130.44
Remaining Arrears(inc VAT)
R91.50

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How your City Power vend actually works

Why does City Power deduct R241.50 from your first vend of the month?

On the standard Prepaid High tariff, City Power charges a fixed monthly amount just for keeping your meter connected: R70.00 for a service charge and R140.00 for a capacity charge, both ex VAT. Adding 15% VAT brings the total to R241.50 per month.

Because you do not get a monthly bill on prepaid, this fixed charge is recovered directly from your next vend. So when you buy R500 of electricity on the first of the month, the meter sees R241.50 already owing on your account and diverts part of your vend to cover it before you get any units.

The Prepaid Low tariff (registered indigent households) has no fixed monthly charge, so no arrears recovery kicks in and every ex-VAT rand buys units.

How the 50/50 arrears recovery split works (and why your R300 gets less)

When you vend and City Power has an outstanding fixed-charge debt on your account, it splits your ex-VAT vend amount 50/50: half goes to clearing that debt, the other half buys electricity units. The split runs until the debt is fully cleared, after which every vend goes entirely to electricity (minus the 15% VAT).

Worked example: you vend R300 at the start of the month.

  • R300 minus 15% VAT = R260.87 available for the 50/50 split.
  • R130.43 clears half of your R210.00 arrears (ex VAT).
  • R130.43 buys electricity at the Block 1 rate (R2.9046 per kWh) = 44.91 kWh.
  • R79.57 of arrears is still owing, which is R91.50 inc VAT, recovered on your next vend.

If your vend is big enough to cover the full arrears in one shot (roughly R500 or more at the start of the month), City Power takes exactly what is owed and gives all the rest to units. Bigger vends feel far more efficient than small ones for exactly this reason.

Block 1 vs Block 2 vs Block 3: the inclining tariff explained

City Power (and most South African municipalities) uses an inclining block tariff for prepaid households: the more units you buy in a calendar month, the more each additional unit costs. Blocks reset on the first of every month.

Prepaid High 2026/27 (ex VAT)

  • Block 1 (0 to 350 kWh): R2.9046 / kWh
  • Block 2 (351 to 500 kWh): R3.3318 / kWh
  • Block 3 (over 500 kWh): R3.7964 / kWh

Prepaid Low 2026/27 (ex VAT)

  • Block 1 (0 to 350 kWh): R2.7237 / kWh
  • Block 2 (351 to 500 kWh): R3.3318 / kWh
  • Block 3 (over 500 kWh): R4.1306 / kWh

Block 2 costs roughly 15% more per unit than Block 1, and Block 3 costs roughly 30% more. So if you are already at 340 kWh for the month, your next R500 vend will run into Block 2 rates for most of it. This is why the calculator asks how many units you have already bought this month: mid-month vends cost more than start-of-month vends.