Big Eskom price hike kicks in today

Eskom direct customers will start paying an average of 12.74% more per unit of electricity they consume from today, Tuesday, 1 April 2025.

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) approved the price hike on Thursday, 30 January 2025. Eskom had applied for an adjustment of 36.15% for the 2025/26 financial year.

The energy watchdog also approved a 5.36% increase for 2026/27 and 6.19% for 2027/28.

The effective increase is 26.09% over three years, a substantial reduction from the 66% increase for which the state-owned power utility had applied.

Through the adjustment, Eskom will be allowed to collect R384 billion in revenue in 2025/26, R409 billion in 2026/27, and R435 billion in 2027/28.

The energy regulator said its decision-making progress carefully considered the affordability of vulnerable sectors and some industrial sectors.

“We received various inputs from the stakeholders who came to our presentations. Top of the list of concerns was the affordability of electricity if the prices applied for by Eskom are approved,” said Nersa chairperson Thembani Bukula.

Energy expert and managing director at EE Business Intelligence, Chris Yelland, recently explained how the price hikes would impact residential power users.

Residents on the Homelight 20A tariff, intended for low-income and indigent customers with limited capacity 20A prepaid meters, consuming 350kWh or less per month, will face increases of 13.57%.

Those using more than 350kWh per month will experience lower increases than the Eskom average of 12.74%.

Yelland said this was because Eskom eliminated the highly subsidised component of the inclined block tariff for monthly consumption lower than 350kWh in favour of a higher flat-rate tariff.

Residents on the Homelight 60A tariff, intended for low-income customers with prepaid or credit meters, consuming less than 600kWh per month, are faced with increases of 18.26%

Meanwhile, those consuming more than 650kWh per month will see significant cost reductions.

Yelland said this was also due to Eskom removing the highly subsidised component of the inclined block tariff for monthly consumption under 600kWh.

Eskom’s Homepower 4 tariff is designed for middle- and higher-income customers with credit or smart meters.

Customers on the plan consuming 750kWh or less per month will see cost increases massively higher than the Eskom average of 12.74%.

At the same time, those using 800kWh or more monthly will experience significantly lower increases, and those consuming 1,100kWh or more per month will experience substantial cost reductions.

“This is a direct result of eliminating the inclined block tariff of Homepower 4 in favour of a flat-rate energy component,” said Yelland.

Other contributors include a 31.9% reduction in the variable energy rate for consumption higher than 600kWh and a significant 88% increase in the fixed monthly component of the Homepower 4 tariff.

For reference, the fixed component is increasing from 192.90 per month to R362.70 per month, which hits low-consumption customers hardest.

Yelland explained that the price increases for varying levels of consumption on the Homeflex 4 tariff cannot be determined.

“This is because the actual cost increase/decrease will depend not only on the monthly energy consumption of the customer but also on the customer’s load profile and response to time-of-use pricing signals,” he said.

Electricity price pain for Homepower customers

MyBroadband calculated how much more Homepower customers will pay per month from 1 April 2025, and Homepower 4 users are hit the hardest.

We calculated costs for households consuming 450kWh, 600kWh, 900kWh, and 1,200kWh per month.

Until now, those on Eskom’s Homepower 1, 2, 3, and 4 paid the same rate of R2.82 per kWh, including VAT, when consuming up to 600kWh per month.

Households that consume 450kWh per month on average currently pay R1,269 per month for electricity. Their bills will increase by R161 to R1,430 from 1 April 2025.

Customers who consume 600kWh of electricity per month previously paid R1,692, and from today, these customers will pay more than R1,900 per month.

The Homepower tariffs increase significantly for customers consuming more than 600kWh per month. The tariff plan also introduces variances between the different rates for these users.

Up to 31 March 2025, customers who consumed more than 600kWh monthly paid R4.45 per kWh on Homepower 1, R4.35 per kWh on Homepower 2 and 3, and R4.54 per kWh on Homepower 4.

From today, households consuming 900kWh per month on average will pay around R510 more per month on Homepower 1, R497 more if they’re on Homepower 2 or 3, and R519 more if they’re on Homepower 4.

Eskom direct households that consume an average of 1,200kWh per month will pay R680 more on the Homepower 1 tariff, R663 more on Homepower 2 or 3, and R692 more on Homepower 4.

The table below compares monthly energy costs for households that consume 450kWh, 600kWh, 900kWh, and 1,200kWh monthly in 2024 to what they will pay from 1 April 2025 with Nersa’s approved Eskom tariff adjustments.

We combined the Homepower 2 and 3 tariffs as they are similar.