Purchases of electricity by municipalities increased by 27.8% quarter-on-quarter for the three months ended June 30, to R15.26-billion, while purchases of water increased by 1.4% over the period, data released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on Monday, has shown.

Stats SA said the increase in electricity purchases was mainly owing to tariff increases and increased electricity consumption.

Quarter-on-quarter, the sales of electricity increased by 6.8% to R20.19-billion, while water sales, at R6.67-billion, were up 3%.

Further, municipal employee-related costs increased by 4.6% between the March and June quarters, which Stats SA said was mainly as a result of year-end salary adjustments.