How many prepaid electricity units can my budget buy?

How it works

Understand the estimate

Divide your available rand amount by the average price per kilowatt-hour. For example, R500 at R3.00/kWh gives about 166.7 kWh. To estimate days of use, divide units by daily kWh consumption.

Make it more accurate

Try the separate prepaid calculator if your municipality charges a fixed fee or uses more than one tariff block.

The starting figures are examples. Replace them with the rates or prices that apply to you.

A bill is not always a single price

If your bill has a fixed monthly charge, dividing a rand budget by the energy price overstates how many additional units you can buy. Your supplier may charge a higher rate after you reach a monthly unit threshold. For a realistic result, copy the effective unit rate or block prices from your own bill and use the more detailed prepaid tool.

Example: For example, with a variable rate of R3.00 per kWh, R600 would represent 200 kWh before any non-energy fees. At 10 kWh per day, that is 20 days of usage; at 20 kWh a day, just 10 days. Both your tariff and daily usage affect how long the budget lasts.

Before relying on the estimate

The result is an estimate, not a quote from your municipality. The cost of actually buying the units may change with block thresholds, seasonal usage, meter type and service charges.

For more detail, read our calculation and editorial standards. Use your own bill, receipt or quote for current prices. These tools do not fetch live rates.