2 khumuuza yoori: “miiyo kooluvala siikhu kimfwaavo khijuweyeeni. 3 othuule nttetthe lawo olawe ntthuttu wasaye nyama. 4 wiipikhe saana wookituvelavo okitiisele kije, kuuparikhiye kihinafwe.” he city does what it can to make electricity accessible and affordable for all its residents. it does not proﬁt from the sale of electricity. of income derived from electricity sales, 65% goes to eskom, which sells the bulk electricity to the city, 25% goes toward the maintenance of the electricity grid, and 10% to the rates account, which helps pay for shared services. this ﬁnancial year, the city has been able to limit electricity tariff increases to 8,8% – much less than eskom’s 15,6% increase – and has implemented tariffs that it believes are as equitable as possible. the city must maintain and extend its extensive electricity infrastructure (see the panel “city electricity by the numbers”), regardless of how much electricity is sold. tariffs and thresholds electricity consumption is measured in kilowatt hours, and one city electricity billing unit is equal to one kilowatt hour. a kilowatt hour (kwh) is a measurement of energy where 1 000 watts of power is sustained for one hour. so, an electric heater consuming 1 000 watts and operating for one hour uses one kwh of energy. a television consuming 100 watts operating continuously for 10 hours also uses 1 kwh. the city charges households three different rates for electricity – lifeline, domestic and home user. the lifeline tariff is designed to help the poor afford a basic level of service. please see the panel below for an explanation of the three tariffs. all three tariffs have two pricing blocks with usage thresholds. if you cross the