Granny Flora is 80 years old. She lives on a pension and pays over R2,000 every month just to keep her lights on. She’s not running a factory. She’s not wasting electricity. She’s just an elderly South African trying to live with dignity — and failing, because her government treats electricity not as a basic right, but as a backdoor tax to fund its own corruption and failure.
Her story is not unique. In Johannesburg, a new R230 fixed electricity surcharge has been imposed on prepaid customers, who are largely poor and working-class households. This surcharge doesn’t depend on how much electricity you use; it punishes you simply for being connected to the grid.
What most people don’t know is that this is not just a Johannesburg problem. In Ekurhuleni, similar fixed charges were quietly included in the 2025/26 Final Tariff Book. These surcharges are spreading across Gauteng, implemented not to improve service delivery, but to plug the holes of municipal mismanagement and debt to Eskom.
There is only one metro in Gauteng that has not imposed this unjust tax: the City of Tshwane, where ActionSA leads the coalition government. There, we took a different approach to fix revenue collection, address billing chaos, and cut waste. We rejected the easy temptation to punish residents for political failure.
The tragedy is that these surcharges are enabled by the silence of regulatory bodies like NERSA. Mandated to protect consumers and ensure tariffs are affordable and just, NERSA has rubber-stamped Eskom’s annual price hikes and municipal surcharges alike. This raises the question: Who protects the public when the regulator acts like a partner in exploitation?
The deeper issue is this: South Africans are being taxed through their electricity meters to pay for the sins of PetroSA, Eskom, and politically connected contractors. We pay for the bailouts. We pay for the inflated tenders. And when the money runs out, we’re asked to pay more quietly, and without protest.
ActionSA says enough. We will be calling for:
- A public hearing, convened by the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, to assess the economic impact and fairness of fixed electricity surcharges;
- Transparency on how tariff increases are linked to Eskom bailouts and PetroSA funding;
- NERSA to account for its decisions before Parliament;
- The urgent reform of municipal revenue models that target the poor instead of fixing broken systems.
If the ANC and EFF believe electricity is a luxury, then they are governing for the few — not the many. Electricity is a lifeline. For students. For pensioners. For small businesses. No South African should be charged for merely existing on the grid.
Granny Flora’s voice must be heard. She represents millions of residents who are being priced out of basic services. This fight is not just about numbers on a bill. It’s about justice.
ActionSA remains committed to fighting for justice in electricity tariffs, especially for the marginalised and impoverished communities.
The Hidden Electricity Tax Spreading Across Gauteng
Granny Flora is 80 years old. She lives on a pension and pays over R2,000 every month just to keep her lights on. She’s not running a factory. She’s not wasting electricity. She’s just an elderly South African trying to live with dignity — and failing, because her government treats electricity not as a basic right, but as a backdoor tax to fund its own corruption and failure.
Her story is not unique. In Johannesburg, a new R230 fixed electricity surcharge has been imposed on prepaid customers, who are largely poor and working-class households. This surcharge doesn’t depend on how much electricity you use; it punishes you simply for being connected to the grid.
What most people don’t know is that this is not just a Johannesburg problem. In Ekurhuleni, similar fixed charges were quietly included in the 2025/26 Final Tariff Book. These surcharges are spreading across Gauteng, implemented not to improve service delivery, but to plug the holes of municipal mismanagement and debt to Eskom.
There is only one metro in Gauteng that has not imposed this unjust tax: the City of Tshwane, where ActionSA leads the coalition government. There, we took a different approach to fix revenue collection, address billing chaos, and cut waste. We rejected the easy temptation to punish residents for political failure.
The tragedy is that these surcharges are enabled by the silence of regulatory bodies like NERSA. Mandated to protect consumers and ensure tariffs are affordable and just, NERSA has rubber-stamped Eskom’s annual price hikes and municipal surcharges alike. This raises the question: Who protects the public when the regulator acts like a partner in exploitation?
The deeper issue is this: South Africans are being taxed through their electricity meters to pay for the sins of PetroSA, Eskom, and politically connected contractors. We pay for the bailouts. We pay for the inflated tenders. And when the money runs out, we’re asked to pay more quietly, and without protest.
ActionSA says enough. We will be calling for:
If the ANC and EFF believe electricity is a luxury, then they are governing for the few — not the many. Electricity is a lifeline. For students. For pensioners. For small businesses. No South African should be charged for merely existing on the grid.
Granny Flora’s voice must be heard. She represents millions of residents who are being priced out of basic services. This fight is not just about numbers on a bill. It’s about justice.
ActionSA remains committed to fighting for justice in electricity tariffs, especially for the marginalised and impoverished communities.