South Africans can expect further pressure on their household budgets after the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) approved additional revenue recovery for Eskom, paving the way for electricity tariff increases over the next two financial years.
The regulator has granted Eskom permission to recover an extra R54.7 billion in allowable revenue. The move aims to correct what has been described as an error in the calculation of the utility’s regulatory asset base.
Eskom had initially argued that the miscalculation resulted in a shortfall of about R107 billion. Following negotiations, however, the power utility agreed to accept roughly half of that amount.
NERSA spokesperson Charles Hlebela said the approved recovery would be phased in and would lead to tariff hikes of 8.7 percent in the 2026/27 financial year and 8.8 percent in 2027/28.
“This is in line with the High Court judgment of 21 December 2025, which remitted NERSA’s decision for re-determination,” Hlebela said.
Under the plan, Eskom will recover R12 billion in 2026/27 and R23.013 billion in 2027/28, with the remaining R19.721 billion to be recouped beyond the current Multi-Year Price Determination (MYPD6) period.
While the phased approach is intended to ease the impact, the increases are likely to add further strain to consumers already grappling with rising living costs proof, some may say, that the only thing switching on reliably these days is the bill.