Two Very Different Pricing Systems
Electricity in South Africa is billed on a rising block tariff — the more you use in a month, the higher the rate climbs on your later units. Municipal and Eskom tariffs are also reviewed annually, and increases in recent years have consistently outpaced general inflation, which is part of why so many households are looking for alternatives.
LPG gas works differently. You pay a fairly transparent price per kilogram or per bottle refill, and that price doesn't jump around based on how much you've already used that month. For households with predictable, heavy usage on a few key appliances — a geyser, a hob, maybe a heater — that pricing stability is valuable on its own, separate from which fuel is technically "cheaper" per unit of energy.
Where Gas Tends To Win
- No standby losses. A gas hob delivers heat instantly and stops the moment you turn it off. Electric geysers, by contrast, keep a full tank of water hot around the clock, even when nobody's using it.
- Faster heat, less wasted energy. Gas flames respond immediately to temperature changes, so less energy is lost bringing pots, pans and water up to temperature.
- No load shedding workaround costs. Backup power — inverters, batteries, generators and the diesel or replacement-battery costs that come with them — is a real, ongoing expense for electricity-only households. Gas appliances simply keep working through an outage.
Where Electricity Can Still Make Sense
If your household's overall usage is already low, or you've invested in solar PV with battery storage, the calculation shifts. Lighting, electronics and most appliances outside of heating are usually more practical to run on electricity regardless of your gas setup. Gas is rarely an all-or-nothing decision — it's about picking the right fuel for the right job.
The Real-World Answer: A Mixed Approach Usually Wins
Most of the Port Elizabeth homes we work with don't go "fully gas" — they target the appliances that use the most energy or matter most during an outage: the geyser, the hob, sometimes a heater or fireplace. That gets the bulk of the cost and reliability benefit without a full rewire of how the home runs.
The fuel that "wins" on paper isn't always the one that saves you the most in practice — how you actually use your home matters more than any single tariff comparison.
Getting An Honest Answer For Your Home
Every household's usage pattern is different, and general comparisons only go so far. If you'd like advice specific to your home — which appliances make sense to convert first, what it would cost to install, and what to expect — we're happy to talk it through, with no pressure and no obligation.