Opposition parties have rejected the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa’s) decision to grant State power utility Eskom a 12.74% tariff hike, with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) calling for an immediate review of Nersa’s tariff approval process and an urgent intervention to halt the planned tariff increases for 2026 and 2027 too.

In addition to the 12.74% tariff increase for electricity in 2025, effective April 1, Nersa has approved 5.3% and 6.1% increases for the next two financial years.

Parties point out that while the approved increases are significantly lower than Eskom’s application for a 36.15% tariff hike, they are still above inflation.

Tariff increases announced on Thursday build on Nersa’s 4% increase to recover Eskom’s losses of R8-billion in the 2021/22 financial year.

Effectively this is an increase of 16.7%.

The EFF rejected the “reckless decision” by Nersa, saying this move was another assault on the working class and the poor.

The party said the crisis at Eskom was not an accident, but the product of “deliberate mismanagement, looting and a calculated agenda to privatise South Africa’s energy sector for the benefit of capitalist vultures”.

The party insisted that government must invest in sustainable and alternative energy solutions, diversifying the country’s power supply and reducing the nation’s dependency on Eskom’s “failing monopoly”.

Civil society organisation AfriForum said it would investigate the rationality of Nersa’s Eskom tariff increases, to determine whether it meets legal requirements.

Last year, AfriForum warned the regulator in a presentation at the public hearings held on the Eskom tariff increase application, not to allow Eskom’s recovery of expenses incurred unlawfully.

AfriForum said an investigation into the rationality of Nersa’s decision to allow the increases would now be carried out to ensure that consumers were properly protected.

ECONOMIC PROGRESS

The Democratic Alliance (DA) pointed out that a tariff hike of this magnitude “undoes the economic progress and stability of the past six months”.

The party pointed out that the increase afforded to Eskom was three times the national inflation rate and would put massive additional pressure on the prices of goods and services.

DA Electricity and Energy spokesperson Kevin Mileham said despite the party’s best efforts to present a compelling case against these increases, Nersa had chosen to pass on Eskom’s failure to manage its finances and operations to consumers.

Mileham said Eskom must be held accountable for its “operational inefficiencies and financial mismanagement”.

“Eskom must stop the wasteful spending, address its failure to collect billions in unpaid municipal debts, and ensure that its operations are run efficiently and transparently. Only when these reforms are made can we even begin to consider any future price increases,” he said.

The DA said it would explore ways to oppose this decision through the courts, in Parliament and in other forums.

The GOOD Party pointed out that the increases would be a major blow to indebted consumers, highlighting that legal contradictions in the electricity supply system needed to be urgently addressed.

GOOD secretary-general Brett Herron noted that South Africans were already paying among the highest electricity prices in the world, relative to income.

“…it is unfair to continue asking consumers to pay more without addressing the entire system’s inefficiencies. It is GOOD’s view that end-users are the ones who are paying for Eskom’s years of mismanagement,” he said.

ActionSA pointed out that for struggling households and businesses, these increases would be devastating.

“What is most alarming is that these increases are a direct result of Eskom’s entrenched corruption and incompetence, which date back to the State Capture era. Ordinary South Africans are once again forced to foot the bill, while the real culprits – Eskom’s leadership, the African National Congress government, and Parliament – have failed to end the looting and mismanagement,” said ActionSA MP Alan Beesley.

The country’s “stagnant” economic growth remained one of the biggest barriers to reducing poverty and unemployment, he said, pointing out that the tariff hikes would further stifle economic activity by raising production costs, reducing consumer spending, and limiting potential interest rate cuts.

ActionSA said South Africans should no longer have to pay for government “corruption and failure”.

“It is time for accountability—those responsible must be jailed, and the incompetent must be removed. Furthermore, we will continue to advocate for a competitive and decentralised energy market as the most effective way to deliver affordable and reliable electricity to South Africans,” said Beesley.