- Written comments on Eskom’s proposed 2027/28 tariffs close at 4pm today, Friday, 2 October.
- Higher fixed charges mean some households will pay far more than the average 8.83% increase, no matter how little power they use.
Some households supplied directly by Eskom could pay around R670 a month before using a single unit of electricity, under tariffs proposed for next year.
Here’s why you’re being asked to weigh in at all. Before Eskom can charge you a new electricity price, the law requires it to get approval from an independent body called the National Energy Regulator of South Africa, or Nersa.
Nersa’s job is to check whether proposed prices are fair, and before it approves anything, it’s required to let the public, that’s you, comment on the plan. That’s what’s happening right now. Today, Friday 2 October, is the deadline, 4pm, for the public to send written comments on this specific proposal.
Back in February, Nersa already approved the total amount of extra money Eskom is allowed to collect for 2027/28, an average increase of 8.83%. What’s being decided now isn’t whether Eskom gets more money, that’s already settled, it’s how Eskom splits that increase between different types of customers and different parts of your bill. That might sound like a technical detail, but it can make a big difference to what you personally end up paying.
Here’s the part that matters most: it’s not just about how much electricity costs overall. It’s about how much you have to pay every month no matter how little electricity you actually use.
For customers on Eskom’s Homepower and Homeflex plans, specific tariffs for homes supplied directly by Eskom rather than through a municipality, part of the plan includes a higher fixed daily charge. This is a cost you pay simply for being connected to the grid, on top of what you pay for the actual electricity you use. This would be the third year running that Eskom has gradually shifted more of your bill into this fixed charge instead of the per-unit price.
According to calculations by MyBroadband, a Homepower 4 customer’s fixed charges would rise from R17.86 a day to R22.03, an increase of about 23%. Add that up over a month, and it comes to roughly R670, before you’ve even switched on a light. To be clear, that’s the total fixed charge under the new tariff, not an extra R670 added on top of what you already pay.
Eskom says the higher fixed charges are meant to better reflect its actual costs, and it’s lowering the per-unit electricity rate slightly to balance things out, so the overall average increase stays at 8.83%. But here’s the catch: using less electricity doesn’t lower your fixed charge. Even if you don’t use any power at all in a month, you still have to pay it. That matters especially for households who already try to save electricity by using less, since this change limits how much they can actually save on their bill.
This doesn’t affect every electricity user in the country. Homepower and Homeflex only apply to households buying electricity directly from Eskom. If you buy your electricity through your municipality instead, which is the case for many South Africans, these specific charges don’t automatically apply to you, though municipalities often set their own, separate tariff increases around the same time of year.
If approved, these tariffs would take effect from 1 April 2027. Nersa says it specifically wants input on affordability and how these changes affect different types of customers, which is exactly why today’s comment period exists.
How to have your say: Email written comments to [email protected] before 4pm today. A virtual public hearing is also scheduled for 8 October, if you want to attend or present your views in person, you need to register by 4:30pm today at [email protected].
