Eskom proposes electricity price hikes

Increased electricity costs could deepen the financial pressures experienced by households, committee warns

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Eskom’s plan to hike electricity tariffs by 8.83% for customers and by 8.84% for municipalities, has been met with major criticism.

The proposed tariffs were revealed by the power utility when it briefed Parliament’s Standing Committee on Appropriations recently.

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The increases, which are subject to the approval of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa),will be effective next April.

The committee has warned that increased electricity costs could deepen the financial pressures experienced by households amid rising inflation, persistently high living costs and a stagnant economy.

“Rising electricity costs force households to choose between essential expenses such as school fees, food and electricity. We therefore need decisions that balance financial sustainability with households’ ability to pay,” said chairperson of the committee, Mmusi Maimane.

Eskom also briefed the committee on support for indigent households and addressing debt owed by municipalities, which stood at R122.5b as at August.

The DA spokesperson on electricity and energy, Kevin Mileham, expressed concern with the power utility’s business model.

“Eskom’s financial recovery is welcome, but we should not confuse a better set of numbers with a sustainable business model,” he said.

Mileham said, for the year to March 2026, Eskom reported a R30.3b profit, but benefitted from an R80b debt-relief payment from the State, while its standard tariff increased by 12.74%.

“Yet electricity sales fell by 6.2% to 178TWh as industrial demand weakened and more customers generated their own power or used less,” said Mileham.

“The DA recognises Eskom’s genuine operational improvements, including better plant performance, lower diesel use and stronger cost control. But these gains do not remove the underlying problem, which is a shrinking sales base, high debt, rising municipal arrears, and tariffs rising faster than many households and businesses can absorb.”

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