By Mapaballo Borotho
- Electricity tariffs will increase by 8.76% for Eskom direct customers from 1 April 2026.
- Municipalities buying electricity from Eskom will see a 9.01% increase starting 1 July 2026.
- The revised hike follows a R54.7-billion calculation error in Eskom’s regulatory asset base that required a court-ordered review.
Electricity consumers will soon feel the pinch after Eskom tariffs were approved to increase by 8.76% from April 2026. The increase was approved by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA).
NERSA confirmed the tariff adjustments on Tuesday, 10 March 2026, following a meeting between the two organisations on 05 March 2026.
The 8.76% increase for Eskom direct customers will take effect from 1 April 2026 until 31 March 2027. Meanwhile, municipalities purchasing electricity from Eskom will face a 9.01% increase, which will come into effect on 1 July 2026 and run until 30 June 2027.
NERSA said the difference in the percentages is due to the different implementation dates between Eskom’s direct customers and municipalities that buy electricity from the power utility.
“According to the ERTSA methodology, Eskom must recover the full allowed revenue within its financial year, which runs from April to March. However, the municipal financial year runs from July to June,” the regulator said in a statement.
The latest hikes are higher than those initially approved for the 2026/27 financial year under the sixth multiyear price determination (MYPD6).
The increase was adjusted to account for a R54.7-billion error made by the regulator when calculating Eskom’s regulatory asset base.
NERSA had previously announced a behind-closed-doors settlement agreement with Eskom regarding the error last year. However, the High Court in December ordered the regulator to redetermine the amount after conducting a public consultation process.
READ NEXT: Eskom rate hike: NERSA admits error as electricity prices set to increase
The post Brace for higher bills as Eskom tariff increase kicks in this year appeared first on KAYA 959.