Putting food on the table or keeping the lights on is the dilemma confronting citizens as the rocketing electricity prices leave South Africans with little to make ends meet.
This emerged when the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) kicked off public hearings in the Western Cape on Monday where submissions were made mostly in opposition to any electricity increases amid ongoing economic upheaval.
Eskom is applying for total revenues of R446 billion for FY2026, R495bn for FY2027, and R537bn for FY2028.
This translates to proposed average price increases for Eskom direct customers of 36.15% (April1, 2025, to March 31, 2026), 11.81% (April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027) and 9.10% (April 1, 2027, to March 31, 2028).
Eskom maintains that the application allows for an “improvement in the financial sustainability of Eskom through the migration to cost-reflective prices”.
Nersa will make the decision on the revenue Eskom can receive following its own analysis and a series of public consultations across the country.
South African Local Government Association (Salga) head of energy Nhlanhla Ngidi highlighted a shift that had occurred over the years as members of the public attending hearings now far outnumbered industry representatives.
“This room used to be filled with industry people, today more than 70% are communities, that must tell us something, they are losing faith in the system, we need to gain that trust back.
“The sector is really fractured, add to that, an economy that is not performing at all. This economy is losing jobs rather than creating them. Eskom has a dilemma. As a country we need Eskom to be sustainable, we need Eskom to supply us with secured supply, at the same time we expect Eskom to offer affordable electricity.
“Electricity pricing policy is not balancing, the affordability part is not really being looked at. We really need to do something. Municipalities will be expected to offset these increases to the customer. It's going to be tough for us to explain and make it make sense to them. We need to do things differently this time around.”
Ngidi suggested that the government and industry needed to have a dialogue about how increases could be phased in, as well as alternative subsidy models to help consumers.
Energy mayco member Xanthea Limberg said Eskom and its pricing remained the single biggest factor in household costs currently.
“It is unaffordable, unfair and disconnected from the financial reality that households, businesses and our economy faces. The ripple effect on municipal pricing is profound as approximately 75% of City electricity tariff income is used to buy power from Eskom for distribution. This increase on the back of more than a decade of massive hikes, is a major threat for the municipality, service delivery, social assistance and residents and businesses in general,” said Limberg.
Mitchells Plain resident, Joan Asia said that every increase “means less food, more stress and the difficult choice between food on the table or keeping the lights on”.
“The tariff increase is too high and it will negatively affect all of us. It is already a burden on families, communities and on the economy. Electricity is an essential need, it’s not a want and it's not a luxury. When I get my little pension, I must turn the funds around and tell myself am I going to buy food or electricity. I have my two grandchildren living with me, they need electricity to do their studies, assignments and tests.
“When you get to this age, I was on one tablet before, since I became a pensioner I’m on three. Now I must also think how am I going to pay for this medication I also need. We, as a family, opted to use gas, it’s cheaper, more dangerous, and unhealthy. We switch off the geyser, put water in a pot on the stove so we can bathe. I humbly request Nersa to reconsider Eskom’s proposal.
We cannot afford this change,” said Asia. Meralda Msibi from Gugulethu and U3A South Africa, an organisation for senior citizens, added that Eskom can run a profitable company, but not at the expense of a struggling public.
“Electricity has increased for many years now. Unemployed men and women are suffering. The aged are living below the bread line, sometimes no hot water to wash. People are having less cooked meals, young (children) under five are not having enough milk, people have to divide the little money they have to buy electricity. Not a day goes by where people are not borrowing money to buy electricity. Renewables are being used in suburbs to save but people in cash-strapped communities don’t have access to that. At the same time food prices are also rising,” said Msibi.
Speaking to Eskom, she added: “Get out of your air-conditioned offices, you need to cut down on your travelling expenses, you need to cut costs. You can run at a profit but not at our expense.
Now you're going to come back every time and ask for more money, what are you really doing to give us affordable electricity?”
Gugulethu pensioner and community leader Joyce Malebu, also representing Project 90 by 2030, said: “I don’t know what is happening with Eskom.
Every time, every year they are doing the same thing. Why can’t we think of the poorest of the poor? We as pensioners don’t have money, we are struggling.
When you buy electricity for R10, you only get four units. As the poorest of the poor we find ourselves on the unsafe side using alternatives, paraffin stove, it is very dangerous you can’t leave those things and go outside. We as the pensioners are basically living on the brink of poverty,” she said.
The public hearings are expected to continue in the Western Cape on Tuesday.
Cape Times