News24 have a well researched article on what the cost of electricity will be. It is researched around the major metros, also included is the increase in rates and taxes and water (also a failing infrastructure). A small note in there is the admin cost for prepaid meters of which there are 4,5 million in SA. These meters are privately administered and the cost is only going to get worse. What choice do you have?
As a business the long term security of your own power generation is a no-brainer. No more lost productivity due to load shedding or cable theft, minimal maintenance on a solar system, the capital cost can be financed off balance sheet and once you have ownership, well then you’re saving for future upgrades or improvements to your existing system. As the pv efficiency improves, so does the storage life, cost and capacity.
The other upside is panels can last between 20-40 years, there is no impact on the environment, they are not noisy (like a generator) and the only maintenance is a regular wipe down to make sure they are clean and operating at their best.
Households may have a much harder time in terms of their ROI and the after tax cost of such a system, but the luxury of a solar system is becoming more of as necessity, wait until after May 8.
A decent solar company will be able to advise you on a way to start the solar journey, and design the system in such a way that you could expand it at a later stage as your financial situation allows.
As Eskom’s evaporating pool of paying electricity users disappears into the sun (pun intended) the need to reliably generate your own power will become a necessity, and not the exception.
https://www.fin24.com/Economy/heres-how-much-electricity-actually-costs-you-in-sas-biggest-cities-20190417