South Africa’s 2026/2027 Electricity Tariff Increases Explained: What You Will Pay

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has officially approved the new electricity tariff increases for the 2026/2027 financial year. For millions of South Africans already struggling with the cost of living, understanding exactly how much more they will pay is crucial.

Nersa has concluded the review process, approving tariff applications for all 176 licensed electricity distributors across the country.

Here is a simple breakdown of the most critical changes coming to your utility bill.

How Much Are Tariffs Increasing in 2026?

Depending on who supplies your power, the implementation dates and percentages will slightly differ:

• Eskom Direct Customers: Tariffs will increase by an average of 8.76% starting on 1 April 2026.
• Municipal Customers: Tariffs will increase by 9.01% starting on 1 July 2026.

The slight difference in the percentage is due to the different financial year cycles utilized by Eskom and local municipalities.

The Hidden Costs: Beware of Fixed Charges

While the headline numbers sit around 9%, these averages do not tell the full story for standard residential customers.

Under the second phase of Eskom’s Retail Tariff Plan (RTP), the power utility is shifting its revenue model to recover more money through fixed monthly fees rather than standard per-unit energy charges. This structural adjustment will result in people paying less per unit of electricity, but significantly more just to be connected to the grid.

For households on standard single-phase connections like the Homeflex 4 and Homepower 4 plans, combined fixed charges are set to skyrocket by 28%. Unfortunately, this new pricing structure heavily penalizes low-to-moderate electricity consumers and households that utilize rooftop solar power.

How Major South African Cities Are Responding

Local municipalities are actively adjusting their specific budgets to account for these massive Eskom bulk-purchase cost hikes.

• City of Johannesburg: City Power is proposing an average overall tariff increase of 9.01% to match Eskom’s rates. To combat massive backlogs and stabilize the grid, the city is dedicating approximately R28.3 billion in operating expenditure toward energy security over the medium term.
• City of Cape Town: Cape Town is implementing an 8.55% uniform increase to its regulated tariff components. However, the city’s overall average electricity tariff increase will sit lower at 5.83% due to internal reductions. Cape Town is also introducing an exciting new “opt-in” Residential Time-of-Use tariff, allowing homeowners with battery systems to lower their bills by shifting their consumption away from peak hours.

Industry Relief vs. Civil Society Outrage

While ordinary households face higher bills, Nersa has granted a crucial lifeline to heavy industrial consumers. A newly approved, heavily discounted tariff of 62 cents per kilowatt-hour was granted to the ferrochrome industry. This relief successfully allowed Merafe Resources to halt retrenchment processes, saving up to 3,000 jobs at their local smelters.

On the other hand, civil society organizations are furious over the residential hikes. Environmental justice group groundWork has expressed outrage, noting that Nersa openly admitted to making miscalculations regarding Eskom’s allowable revenues in previous decisions. Activists warn that forcing the public to pay for systemic governance failures will drive vulnerable communities deeper into energy poverty.

What Consumers Can Do Next

To make life slightly easier for prepaid customers, Eskom will be rolling out Easy Electricity purchase options. These are simplified buying methods designed around average monthly usage, allowing households to choose standard electricity amounts or rand-values via non-expiring tokens.