Eskom will implement tariff adjustments for the new financial year from April for its direct customers, while municipal customers are expected to see increases from July.
The increases – 8.76% for Eskom customers and an average of 9.01% for municipal customers – were approved and announced by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) in February.
“The tariff increase supports Eskom’s ability to provide a stable and reliable electricity supply. Eskom’s revenue requirement covers the cost of generating, transmitting and distributing electricity, while migrating towards a fair return is needed to maintain and invest in critical infrastructure.
“NERSA considered both customer affordability and the long‑term sustainability of the electricity system,” the power utility said in a statement.
Eskom’s Group Chief Financial Officer Calib Cassim added: “We have been clear in communicating that Eskom is working to ensure that future tariff increase requests remain reasonable, recognising the affordability pressures on both residential and business customers.
“Achieving this depends on disciplined financial management and finding smarter, more efficient ways of operating”.
Subsidised tariffs
The power utility assured that subsidised tariffs will remain in place.
These include:
- Homelight tariffs continue to be subsidised, with these subsidies recovered through the Affordability Subsidy Charge.
- Rural tariffs also remain subsidised due to higher network costs in those areas.
- These network‑related subsidies, including those benefiting Homelight customers, are recovered through the Electrification and Rural Subsidy (ERS) charge and the Low‑Voltage charge.
“These measures continue to ensure that electricity remains accessible and affordable for low‑income and rural households,” the statement read.
Detailed tariffs for Eskom customers can be found on https://www.eskom.co.za/distribution/tariffs-and-charges/ while municipal customers are requested to wait for communication from their respective municipalities.
“Over the past three years, Eskom has made steady progress in improving the performance of its generation fleet. The Energy Availability Factor has risen to 65.85% year‑to‑date [1 April 2025 to 12 March 2026], with the fleet reaching or exceeding 70% on 83 occasions so far.
“The baseload units that anchor the system 24/7 have stabilised significantly, improving from 9% availability two years ago to being available more than 98% of the time today.
“Eskom remains committed to transparent communication, disciplined financial management and continued operational improvements that support a dependable electricity supply for all South Africans,” the statement concluded. – SAnews.gov.za
