• The National Energy Regulator has approved a range of increases for Eskom.
• While Eskom Direct customers will feel these increases from April, municipal customers will only feel the pinch from 1st July.
• Increases may have more South Africans exploring alternative power solutions.

South Africans who have been looking at alternative power solutions may want to ramp up their efforts on the back of news that power is becoming more expensive.

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) announced this week that it had approved Eskom’s Retail Tariff and Structural Adjustment application. This means that Eskom’s standard tariff will increase by 18.65 percent and the tariff for municipalities will increase by 18.49 percent.

Key industrial and urban customers will realise an 18.65 percent increase plus an additional 7.37c per kWh to cater for the subsidy, which increases from 5.69c per kWh resulting in a 29,53 percent increase. Homelight 20Amp customers will realise a lower increase of 10 percent.

While municipalities look to be getting a lower increase, this is due to a the timing of this announcement.

“Municipalities will realise a lower increase of 18,49 percent because, in the first three months (April to June) of Eskom’s financial year, they will not experience an increase, as their financial year commences on 1 July every year. The municipalities cannot increase their tariffs in the middle of their financial year, as it would not correspond with the revenue to be achieved from licensed municipal distributors. In this regard, Eskom will over-recover revenues in the first three months (April to June) of its financial year, hence municipalities will only experience an increase of 18,49 percent as opposed to the 18,65 percent that the rest of Eskom’s customers will see,” Nersa wrote in a media statement.

These increases will be put into effect on 1st April for Eskom direct customers and 1st July for municipalities.

A full list of the increases follows in the table below.

“It is important to indicate that the NERSA-approved tariffs exclude the value-added tax (VAT), as the Minister of Finance determines the rate. The Minister of Finance last proclaimed a VAT increase in 2018, from 14% to 15%. Eskom will ensure that its approved Schedule of Standard Prices for 2023/24 is published on its website and communicated to all customers,” the regulator said.

With electricity getting more expensive and reliability always a concern, South Africans may look to taking advantage of rebates for the likes of solar power to lessen reliance on Eskom.

[Image – CC 0 Pixabay]