Opposition political parties including the GOOD Party, the DA, and civil society movements have objected to the 12.74% tariff increase, announced by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA).
The increase, approved during a media briefing on Thursday, is set to be a significant blow to consumers already grappling with economic hardships.
The GOOD Party has been particularly vocal in its condemnation, stating that the increase comes at a time when South Africans are already burdened by some of the highest electricity prices in the world, relative to income.
“It is GOOD’s view that end users are the ones who are paying for Eskom’s years of mismanagement,” the party declared.
“This 12.74% increase for the financial year 2025/26, along with subsequent hikes of 5.36% for 2026/27 and 6.19% for 2027/28, is well above inflation and remains an unfair demand on consumers.”
DA’s shadow minister of minerals and energy, Kevin Mileham, objected to the hikes, saying these increases build on the NERSA’s 4% increase to recover Eskom’s losses of R8 billion in the 2021/22 financial year.
“Effectively this is an increase of 16.7%. This increase afforded to Eskom is three times the national inflation rate and will put massive additional pressure on the prices of goods and services across the spectrum.
“While this is significantly lower than the nearly 40% tariff increase Eskom applied for, a tariff hike of this magnitude undoes the economic progress and stability of the past six months,“ he stated.
NERSA’s announcement coincided with the release of interim results by Eskom for the period to September 30, 2024, which showed that the utility made a profit of R16 billion in the first six months.
NERSA chairperson Thembani Bukula announced that the energy regulator also approved increases of 5.36% and 6.19% for Eskom’s 2026/27 and 2027/28 financial years.
This, against requests for 11.8% and 9.1% respectively, were made in Eskom’s sixth multi-year price determination (MYPD6) application.
As a result, the standard tariff would rise from 195.95 c/kWh to 220.92 c/kWh on April 1 for direct customers, instead of the 266.77 c/kWh sought by Eskom; municipal tariffs would rise on July 1. In the two outer years, the tariff would increase to 232.75 c/kWh and 247c/kWh respectively.
In addition, there was some political pressure on Nersa to contain the increases, after Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa described Eskom’s 36.15% request as unaffordable and untenable.
In a statement, Ramokgopa, welcomed the decision, while acknowledging that it would place pressure on the utility. The Ministry, he said, remains committed to working with Eskom to drive greater efficiency gains.
siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za