Eskom tariffs to rise after NERSA error
image: Internet
by Kelebogile Matlou
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) has acknowledged to calculating mistakes in its previous multi-year pricing decision for Eskom, resulting in higher power bills for consumers in 2026 and 2027. The fix comes after an out-of-court deal between NERSA and Eskom, which allows the power provider to recoup an extra R54 billion over the following two fiscal years.
Rhulani Mathebula, NERSA’s Executive Manager for Electricity, said that some statistics were incorrectly excluded throughout the decision process. “We had to go back to our numbers and look at what exactly we missed when we pronounced the price increases for 2026 and 2027,” he said.The omission occurred in the generating business, resulting in this R54 billion adjustment. Consumers will benefit by 3.26% in 2026 and 2.6% in 2027.
Professor Samson Mamphweli, an energy specialist, said that South Africans should brace themselves for more rate increases, since NERSA is unlikely to face penalties for their miscalculation. He emphasized that the regulator’s governance systems do not appear to impose strong consequences for such failures.
The revised rises of 5% and 6% imply that energy bills would grow nearly three times faster than consumer inflation, putting homes and companies under financial duress.
