Eskom chairman Mteto Nyati said the power utility would only implement single-digit price increases in future.
Eskom chairman Mteto Nyati said he agreed that double-digit increases in electricity prices are unaffordable for South Africans.
In the utility’s financial report for the year ended 31 March 2026, Nyati said that Eskom was committed to applying only single-digit increases in electricity prices from now on.
Eskom revealed that despite a decline in electricity sales, it reported an increase in revenue for the year, while its after-tax profit rose from R14 billion to R30.3 billion.
It reported higher revenue despite selling less electricity, due to above-inflation electricity tariff increases it implemented in the country during the financial year.
Eskom saw a significant decline in the power purchased by its industrial customers, historically its largest customer base. These customers purchased 9.7 TWh less energy in the year.
This represented a 22.5% decline from the previous year, which Eskom attributed to hardship in South Africa’s ferrochrome industry.
Alongside declining industry sales, Eskom reported that the agricultural sector consumed 5.7% less of the power it generated as farmers embraced private power generation from renewable sources.
The decline in power spend saw Eskom sell 178 TWh of electricity in the 2026 financial year, 6.2% less than in the 2025 financial year, and the lowest amount of energy it sold since 2000.
At the same time, Eskom reported that its generation availability improved, with the utility celebrating a 2–3 GW capacity surplus for the first time in a decade.
While generating more power, the utility offset the decline in sales by increasing its direct electricity tariffs by an average of 12.74%. Bulk electricity tariffs also increased by 11.32% on 1 July 2026.
A recent cost-of-living report from the Competition Commission revealed that South Africans were spending 85% more on electricity than they were just six years ago.
Mteto Nyati, chairman of Eskom’s board of directors
Nyati said in Eskom’s annual report that the utility had heard the cries of South Africans who say that double-digit increases were unaffordable.
“We are committed to containing increases to single digits by relentlessly driving efficiencies through our Cost Optimisation and Revenue Enhancement programme,” he said.
“We will continue to support the work by the Department of Electricity and Energy on the review of the Electricity Pricing Policy, which was recently published for public comment.”
This is not the first time the chairman has made similar comments. In March 2026, he said that the utility’s core mission was to provide cheap, abundant energy to households and businesses.
In a speech at the Biznews Conference in Hermanus, Nyati said that with load-shedding resolved, the utility would now focus on energy affordability.
To reduce electricity prices, the chairman said Eskom would seek to remove R112 billion in costs from the system over the next five years.
“It is going to be painful for the next five years, but it is the road that we have to take if we want to deliver on our mission of powering South Africa,” he said.
However, even with single-digit price increases, Eskom will still be implementing tariff hikes above South Africa’s inflation target.
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) recently updated South Africa’s inflation target to 3%, with a tolerance band of ±1 percentage point.
Eskom would have to ensure future tariff hikes are below this range to stay within SARB’s inflation target.
This is already not the case, as NERSA, the energy sector regulator, approved an 8.83% tariff increase for Eskom earlier this year, which is set to take effect in April 2027.
Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa
President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the end of Eskom’s monopoly would create an environment where electricity could become cheaper in South Africa.
Ramaphosa approved the plan to establish a fully independent state-owned Transmission System Operator (TSO) in July, which would be entirely separate from the utility.
“For families trying to make ends meet, having to contend with the cost of food, transport and other necessities, high electricity costs cause real hardship,” he wrote in his weekly open letter.
“For businesses, high electricity costs make it more expensive to produce goods and provide services. They make SA companies less competitive and discourage investment in industries that can create jobs.”
He said that NERSA had finalised a range of new regulations that would form the architecture for a competitive wholesale electricity market.
These new regulations would enable both public and private generators to compete to supply electricity in South Africa.
“This competition can drive greater efficiency, encourage investment and put downward pressure on the cost of electricity,” said Ramaphosa.
