South Africa’s energy regulator said on Sunday that it has approved higher electricity price increases for state-owned utility Eskom in the next two financial years than were previously allowed, after acknowledging mistakes in its earlier calculations.
According to Reuters, the regulator, Nersa, said in a statement that Eskom’s tariffs will now rise by 8.76% in April this year and by 8.83% in April 2027, compared with the earlier approved increases of 5.36% and 6.19%.
Nersa said the revised increases were designed to strike a balance between Eskom’s financial sustainability and the affordability of electricity for consumers.
Eskom, once a monopoly and still the main electricity supplier in Africa’s largest economy, has struggled with financial problems for years, which it has partly blamed on Nersa’s tariff decisions.
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Despite these challenges, Eskom recorded its first full-year profit in eight years last year, supported by a multi-year government bailout and a significant improvement in the performance of its coal-fired power plants.
Nersa initially approved the tariff increases in January 2025 but later admitted errors in the way Eskom’s tariffs were calculated for the 2025/26 to 2027/28 financial years and reached a settlement with the utility in July.
However, the high court rejected that settlement in December and instructed Nersa to make a new determination on Eskom’s tariffs after inviting submissions from the public.
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Image Credit: Bloomberg.com
