South Africa is facing an escalating crisis. Persistent electricity tariff increases, compounded by economic stagnation and unemployment that has pushed our people deeper and deeper into poverty and despair.
Over and above Eskom’s outrageous request for a 36.15% tariff hike from customers, NERSA’s decision to allow Eskom to recover an additional R8 billion from its Regulatory Clearing Account will result in a further 4% tariff increase in 2025, bringing the total tariff increase to over 40% next year.
*This is an official petition hosted by ActionSA.
These combined increases will further devastate already struggling households, making basic electricity an unaffordable luxury for millions, straining businesses, and further weakening our fragile economy, with South Africans expected to pay 40% more for electricity.
From 2007 to 2022, Eskom’s tariffs have skyrocketed by 450%, vastly outpacing inflation, which increased by 129%. This disproportionate quadruple rise in energy costs has crippled household budgets, forcing South Africans to make impossible choices between paying for food or electricity. These escalating prices reflect the unchecked inefficiency of the Eskom monopoly, which continues to pass the cost of its corruption and ineptitude onto the public.
ActionSA believes that decentralising the energy market by capacitating and empowering municipalities to develop microgrids and renewable energy projects will reduce reliance on Eskom, promote competition among independent power producers (IPPs), diversify energy supply, and lower costs and alleviate the pressure on consumers.
ActionSA rejects these increases!
