Eskom has waived connection fees for residential small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) systems under 50 kVA until March 2026. The waiver includes a complimentary smart meter and represents a saving of R9 132,65 per customer.
The utility has also suspended a 3,2% tariff increase scheduled for customers with SSEG systems above 50 kVA. These users will continue paying the previous year’s tariff rates.
The measures are part of Eskom’s efforts to incentivise registration and improve compliance with legislation, said Onicah Rantwane, Eskom’s Chief Adviser: Electricity Tariffs and Policy Development, during a Government Communication and Information System webinar on March 31.
The R9 132,65 saving includes tariff conversion, standard quotation and connection fees as well as the meter installation cost. “All these fees are being waived for customers registering SSEGs under 50 kVA,” Rantwane said. Existing smart meters do not need to be replaced to switch to the Homeflex tariff.
Homeflex: Residential time-of-use tariff with net billing
Eskom’s Homeflex tariff, approved by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) in 2023, is a residential time-of-use tariff available to all customers – not just those with SSEGs. It enables users to adjust consumption based on peak, standard and off-peak pricing, potentially lowering costs.
For customers with SSEGs, Homeflex includes a net billing mechanism that credits them for surplus electricity exported to the grid. However, these credits are limited to their monthly consumption and cannot offset network-related charges, which remain payable. Any surplus energy beyond consumption is forfeited.
“If we were to credit customers beyond their usage, we’d effectively be moving to feed-in tariffs, essentially purchasing power from customers. We are not approved for that,” said Rantwane.
Seasonal and time-based pricing for 2025/26
The 2025/26 Homeflex tariff reflects seasonal and daily variation in pricing (including value-added tax).
In the high-demand season (June-August), the charges are:
- Peak: 813,02 c/kWh
- Standard: 248,76 c/kWh
- Off-peak: 183,15 c/kWh
During the low-demand season (September-May), the charges are:
- Peak: 378,67 c/kWh
- Standard: 235,64 c/kWh
- Off-peak: 183,15 c/kWh
Tariff increases and unbundled charges
Earlier this month, NERSA approved Eskom’s retail tariff plan, which includes an average 12,74% tariff increase effective April 1, and the unbundling of energy charges across customer categories.
Under the new structure, Homeflex customers will have fixed monthly charges of R367,74 itemised as generation and network capacity as well as service and administration components. Network and retail charges are further split into network demand, ancillary services, and service and administration costs.
“The unbundling ensures transparency, fairness and a correct user-pay signal,” Rantwane said.
Some customers may experience a smaller increase than the average. For example, an urban residential customer on a Homeflex 4 (16 kVA) tariff using 1 250 kWh per month will only see a 5,48% year-on-year increase. Rantwane advised customers to use Eskom’s online tariff comparison tool to determine the exact impact based on their consumption.
She also clarified that Homeflex and standard Homepower residential customers incur the same fixed monthly charges.
Residential customers interested in installing an SSEG system can follow Eskom’s five-step registration process available on its website.
