You might think that losing out on access to electricity for ±4 hours per day would constitute some sort of break on Eskom’s monthly fees. That might be how they do it in more developed countries, but nothing will stop Eskom from collecting its annual hike, showing up right on time ahead of the 1 April 2024 hike date.
Eskom’s taking us for a hike
It’s not as though Eskom is coming out of left field with this one. These plans have been in the works since early 2023 when The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) approved a massive 33.77% tariff increase split over two years. 2023 took the brunt of the hike — swallowing an 18.65% increase, while 2024’s residential homepower rates will be going up by 12.74% in April.
Had the Democratic Alliance (DA) been successful in its attempts to thwart Nersa’s approved increase, we might’ve been sitting with far lower prices. The DA described the two-year 33.77% increase as “astronomical”, noting that the hike had the potential to price electricity out of many South African residents’ incomes.
When it attempted to get the High Court involved, it dismissed the case — ruling in favour of Nersa’s hike.
“All relevant factors have properly and in detail been considered, the conclusions reached were neither arbitrary nor irrational and the issue of cross-subsidisation was considered at the appropriate stage,” the High Court judgement stated. “The High Court, therefore, found that both the review applications of the DA and SALGA (The South African Local Government Association) must fail.”
Read More: How to find out if you qualify for Free Basic Electricity in South Africa, and how it works
After the 12.74% comes into effect next month, it’ll bring the tariff up to 195.95c/kWh — up from 2023’s 173.8c/kWh. But how will that affect your bottom line on your bill come April? Well, it depends. Houses that use, on average, 600kWh per month will see an extra R168.24 no matter which Homepower tariff they are on.
Bringing that up to 900kWh of electricity each month, residents in the Homepower 1 bracket will pay an extra R398.52, while those in the Homepower 2 and 3 brackets will see a R388.53 increase. Homepower 4 customers have a R405.81 increase to look forward to.
Eskom customers that use around 1,200kWh/m are looking at an increase of around R518.04 and R541.08, depending on which tariff they fall under. Houses that use as much as 1,500kWh/m can expect a R664 hike under the Homepower 1 umbrella, R648 for Homepower 2 and 3 customers, and R676 for those in the Homepower 4 bracket.
