South African households face another steep increase in their electricity costs when Eskom implements an 8.8% tariff hike on 1 April – more than double the current inflation rate of 3.5%.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has approved the increase, which will see Eskom direct customers paying 8.76% more from April, whilst those supplied through municipalities will pay 9.01% more from July.
The difference in timing is due to Eskom’s financial year running from April to March, whilst municipalities operate on a July to June cycle.
The tariff jump is partly due to a court order issued in December, which required Nersa to reconsider its calculations after errors were discovered. This resulted in Eskom being allowed to collect an additional R54.7 billion from customers over three years.
The first portion of R12 billion will be recovered through this year’s tariff increase, pushing the rate up from an initially proposed 5.4% to 8.8%. A further R23 billion will be added to 2027’s increase, with the remaining R19.7 billion to follow in future years.
Consumers can expect to pay more than the base 9% increase once additional fixed charges are applied. Nersa approved Eskom’s new pricing structure in 2025, which introduces fixed capacity charges and service fees that are being phased in over three years.
Nersa said it considered public concerns about the impact of tariff increases on consumers, but the consultation process did not result in any changes to the approved amounts.
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