NERSA’s Shocking Electricity Tariff Increases

Dear Editor

“The DA will continue to stand up for South Africans, and we will not rest until Eskom is held accountable for its failures. We will continue to explore all avenues to oppose this decision…”

The Democratic Alliance (DA) firmly rejects the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (NERSA) approval of electricity tariff increases, including a staggering 12.7% for the 2025/26 financial year, followed by further hikes of 5.36% for 2026/27 and 6.19% for 2027/28.

Tariff increases announced today build on the NERSA’s 4% increase to recover Eskom’s losses of R8 billion in the 2021/22 financial year. Effectively this is an increase of 16.7%.

The increase afforded to Eskom is 3x the national inflation rate and will put massive additional pressure on the prices of goods and services across the spectrum.

While this is significantly lower than the nearly 40% tariff increase Eskom applied for, a tariff hike of this magnitude undoes the economic progress and stability of the past six months.

The DA has been at the forefront of fighting against these unjustified hikes. We launched a national petition that has already gathered over 130 000 signatures from South Africans who stand with us in opposition to Eskom’s proposed tariff increases. We have marched, rallied, and participated in public hearings in all provinces to make our voice heard and to amplify the concerns of millions of South Africans who simply cannot afford to pay more for increasingly unreliable service.

Despite our best efforts to present a compelling case against these increases, NERSA has chosen to pass on Eskom’s failure to manage its finances and operations to consumers. The DA has consistently opposed any tariff increase and will continue to do so. South Africans should not be forced to pay for Eskom’s years of financial mismanagement, operational failures, and wasteful expenditure.

The Auditor General’s latest report on Eskom’s financial and operational performance highlights the core issues that continue to drive Eskom’s crisis—rampant corruption, wasteful spending, and a shocking inability to meet operational targets. Higher tariffs will only deepen the financial strain on households and businesses, without addressing the root cause of Eskom’s failure.

Rather than raising tariffs, Eskom must be held accountable for its operational inefficiencies and financial mismanagement. Eskom must stop the wasteful spending, address its failure to collect billions in unpaid municipal debts, and ensure that its operations are run efficiently and transparently. Only when these reforms are made can we even begin to consider any future price increases.

The DA will continue to stand up for South Africans, and we will not rest until Eskom is held accountable for its failures. We will continue to explore all avenues to oppose this decision, and we will fight with all our might for a fair and affordable energy future for all South Africans – through the courts, in parliament and every other forum possible.

The people have spoken, and we will not stop until Eskom is reformed, and South Africans are no longer forced to pay for Eskom’s failures.

Regards

Kevin Mileham MP
DA Spokesperson on Electricity & Energy