The municipalities of Cape Town and Tshwane have issued strong appeals to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) to reject Eskom’s proposed electricity tariff hike, warning that the increase could lead to severe economic hardship for households and businesses within their jurisdictions.

“On behalf of Cape Town households and businesses, especially small businesses, we are calling for the rejection of a 44% electricity tariff hike. The economic impact, especially on lower-income families, will be immense with the cost of living already so high,” says Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis in a letter to NERSA.

“We call on NERSA to marshal the independent expertise needed to assess Eskom’s cost structures and margins. We believe that Eskom can improve their efficiency, reduce costs and develop new revenue streams rather than passing this huge increase on to consumers.”

The letter is a response to a leaked Eskom document, first reported by Daily Maverick, outlining Eskom’s intention to request a 36,15% tariff increase from NERSA in 2025 for directly charged and supplied customers. It also suggests a proposed 43,55% increase for customers who rely on municipality-supplied electricity.

“If this super-inflationary increase, or anything close to it, is granted, it will put our consumers, households and working men and women under incredible pressure – and we will fight it,” the Mayor of Tshwane Cilliers Brink said in a video shared on social media platform X.

On Monday (August 26), NERSA announced it had received Eskom’s sixth multi-year price determination revenue application for the 2025/26, 2026/27 and 2027/28 financial years. Although the proposed tariff increase has not been specified, NERSA confirmed the application would be processed in accordance with the National Energy Regulator Act 40 of 2004 if deemed compliant.

“The application is currently under review for regulatory compliance. Once assessed, it will be published for stakeholder comments and public consultation,” said Charles Hlebela, Head of Department: Communication and Stakeholder Management at NERSA. He encouraged stakeholders to submit their views and relevant evidence to NERSA during this process.

In response to municipalities’ appeals, Eskom told Energize: “We have conducted the necessary consultations with SALGA and National Treasury and followed the required governance procedures. Our documentation has been submitted to NERSA and we await verification of our compliance status. Once confirmed, NERSA will publish the details for stakeholder comments. We advise waiting for NERSA’s process to proceed.”