South Africa’s power utility company, Eskom, has welcomed the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (NERSA) decision to approve a 12.74% increase in electricity tariffs for customers, effective April 1, and an 11.32% increase for municipal bulk purchases, effective July 1, 2025.
Eskom argued that a well-defined tariff structure ensures equitable cost recovery, eliminates unintended cross-subsidies, and facilitates the responsible integration of alternative energy sources.
According to Eskom, the new approved tariffs will support the transformation of the electricity supply industry by aligning prices for the cost of generation, transmission, and distribution services while promoting affordability and equity for all customers.
The new tariffs will enable Eskom to implement simpler tariffs for low-consumption households and municipal bulk purchases, ensuring that customers pay for the costs they incur. This reinforces a stronger user-pays principle in electricity pricing through the removal of unintended subsidies.
“Our residential customers will no longer have to pay a higher price for consumption above 350kWh and will instead pay the same cent per kilowatt-hour (c/kWh) for all their consumption,” said Monde Bala, Eskom Group Executive for Distribution.
“We encourage Eskom residential customers to purchase legal electricity tokens, and for those in need of increased affordability, to register for Free Basic Electricity (FBE) and enjoy lower electricity prices provided by our government.”
Bala added, “With this NERSA approval, our customers who have registered their solar rooftop electricity generation will be able to export excess energy into the grid. Consequently, customers can reduce their electricity bill by benefiting from energy credits from exported energy once they are on a Homeflex tariff.”
The approved tariff changes do not apply to customers who are not directly supplied or connected to the Eskom grid.
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