Prices of essential utilities like electricity and water have skyrocketed far beyond the national inflation rate over the last six years.
The Competition Commission has painted a grim picture of the cost of living in South Africa, revealing that prices of essential utilities such as electricity and water have skyrocketed far beyond the national inflation rate over the last six years.
The Commission released the second Cost of Living (CoL) report on Wednesday, 1 April, which is not an April Fool’s joke, as more South Africans feel the pressure of economic hardship.
The report shows how prices for basic goods and services have changed since 2020, and what this means for household budgets.
Electricity
According to the report, from 2020 to January 2026, electricity prices surged by about 85% and water prices by about 68%.
This is significantly above overall inflation, which increased by 30% over the same period.
“The persistence of these increases reflects deeper structural challenges within the utility sector, including ageing infrastructure, high debt burdens, operational inefficiencies, and the need for ongoing capital investment,” the Commission said.
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Selected foods
The CoL report also examined the gap between what producers receive and what consumers pay for selected foods, including canned pilchards, eggs, individually quick-frozen (IQF) chicken, sunflower oil and maize meal.
“In this report, the “spread” is the percentage difference between the producer price and the retail price. The Commission analyses spreads to see how price changes move through the value chain and where the gap is widening or narrowing,” the Commission said.
“A widening spread can suggest opportunistic “rocket and feather” pricing, where processors or retailers raise prices quickly when costs rise but reduce them slowly when costs fall.”
Key food items include:
- Eggs: In mid-2025, producer prices fell, but retail prices fell slowly. This suggests that price decreases were not passed on to consumers right away.
- IQF chicken: Producer prices were broadly stable at about R45, but retail prices increased from about R96.38 to R101.56 per 1.5kg between June and December 2025.
- Maize meal: The farm value of white maize fell from R22.16 in May 2025 to R14.49 per 2.5kg in December 2025. Producer prices for maize meal did not fall by the same extent, and retail prices remained high. The producer-to-retail spread was 37% in November 2025.
- Sunflower oil: Retail prices were often slow to reflect changes in underlying costs. Retail prices tend to react to increases in costs. However, they do not appear to fall when costs decrease. This price stickiness is a concern.
Healthcare
The report showed that healthcare also had an impact on South Africans.
Primary healthcare: General practitioner (GP) consultation costs have risen faster than overall inflation and remain high in 2026. GP tariff increases in 2026 are expected to be broadly in line with medical inflation of about 4.2%.
Education
According to the report, parents with school-going children also face a heavy burden.
Since 2020, the cost of primary education has risen by 37%, while secondary education has jumped by 42%, both above headline inflation.
The Commission linked these hikes to insufficient government funding, which forces schools to cover operational shortfalls through increased fees.
Fuel price
The report also touched on the fuel price, revealing that, between April 2025 and January this year, petrol prices stabilised after sharp swings in earlier years.
Prices fell in 2025 and were broadly steady in January. Taxi fares moved in line with petrol, and the gap between taxi fares and overall inflation narrowed.
The Commission, however, stated that renewed instability in the Middle East has pushed oil prices higher, resulting in significant fuel price increases for April.
“This is already putting upward pressure on fuel and transport costs from April. Higher fuel costs can also feed through to the prices of other goods, including food.”
Cost of living
“Addressing the cost of living requires greater scrutiny of administered price-setting mechanisms, enhanced transparency and accountability in tariff determinations and targeted protection for vulnerable households” said Commissioner Doris Tshepe.
“Without deliberate attention to how essential service prices are formed and transmitted through the economy, cost pressures are likely to remain entrenched, limiting gains in household welfare and slowing broader economic recovery.”
‘Deep dive’
The Commission said that each edition of the CoL report includes a “deep dive” into one key cost driver.
In the latest edition, the focus was on electricity tariffs.
“Electricity is a direct household expense and a major cost for businesses. When tariffs rise, they put pressure on household budgets and can push up prices across the economy, including food and transport,” the Commission said.
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