Municipalities across South Africa have just two weeks remaining to submit electricity tariff applications for the 2026/27 financial year, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) has warned.
Applications must be submitted by no later than 31 March and include comprehensive cost-of-supply studies. Eskom’s direct electricity customers will see an increase of 8.76%, but most municipal users, particularly in metropolitan areas, will only experience new tariffs from 1 July.
Municipalities often add their own markups to Eskom’s rates, which can result in double-digit increases for consumers. In some areas, such as Johannesburg, fixed monthly surcharges have been introduced for prepaid electricity customers, further driving up costs.
NERSA requires all municipal electricity distributors to conduct public participation processes before tariffs can be formally approved, ensuring communities have an opportunity to provide input on proposed increases.
Consumers are being urged to review announcements from their local municipalities to prepare for potential electricity cost changes in the coming months.