The charges on your bill explained

Utility bills carry more than consumption. The lines that generate the most questions are the ones charged on capacity rather than energy, because they do not move with how much you used.

The charge types

Consumption, per kilowatt hour. What you actually used. On a time-of-use tariff this is split into peak, standard and off-peak, and the rates differ between high and low season.

Demand charge, per kilovolt-ampere. Charged on your highest half hour in the month. This is a straight monthly charge on that half hour, not a penalty for crossing a threshold. See Maximum demand and how to reduce it.

Network access or network capacity charge, per kilovolt-ampere. What the network operator charges for holding capacity available to you. It tracks recorded maximum demand, which is why a single data spike can inflate it badly.

Generation capacity charge. On tariffs with a demand component this is charged per kilovolt-ampere against your Notified Maximum Demand. On tariffs with no demand component, such as the Business tariffs, it is charged per day per point of delivery instead. The distinction matters and has caused verification errors.

Legacy charge, per kilowatt hour. Introduced in a recent Eskom restructure.

Electrification and rural network subsidy. A subsidy line that Eskom has removed and reinstated over time. If it cannot be selected during bill verification, it usually means the charge is not currently on your site's tariff scheme and needs adding back.

Service charge. A fixed daily or monthly amount.

Reactive energy, in kilovolt-ampere reactive hours. Charged on some accounts where power factor is poor. See Kilovolt-amperes, kilowatts and power factor.

Why the names do not match

The wording on your utility account and the wording in the Augos tariff scheme often differ, and neither is wrong. If you cannot tell which Augos charge corresponds to a line on your bill, send the bill to support@augos.io and ask.

When a new line appears

Utilities add and remove charge components at the annual increase. A new line on your bill has to be loaded onto your site's tariff scheme before it appears in your Augos cost figures. Send the account and ask for it to be added.

The headline increase is not the whole story: when new charges are introduced, other components sometimes fall, so many bills end up close to neutral. Ask for a comparison of the same consumption on the old and new rates if you need to know the real effect.

Still stuck

Email support@augos.io with the utility account attached and the line item you are asking about.