KwaZulu-Natal residents who are unemployed, financially struggling and hungry have lambasted Eskom’s proposed 36.1% tariff hike. (Dean Hutton/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
KwaZulu-Natal residents who are unemployed, financially struggling and hungry have lambasted Eskom’s proposed 36.1% tariff hike, highlighting the chasm between wealthy government leaders and the reality of millions of people surviving on grants and pensions.
Speaking at the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa) public hearings on Friday, trade unions, residents and ratepayers, including those living in hostels, informal settlements and middle-income suburbs, were united in their anger and rejection of Eskom’s application.
The power utility wants price increases amounting to R445 billion for 2025-26, R495 billion for 2026-27 and R537 billion for 2027-28, translating to electricity price hikes of 36.1% in 2025, 11.8% in 2026 and 9.1% in 2027.
South Durban Community Alliance (SDCA) representative Tristen Meek said Eskom is struggling to meet demand and thousands of households do not have electricity.
“Communities are told to pay electricity bills for almost R15 000, yet they use less power than elites living in so-called better parts of the province. Despite tariff hikes, Eskom still cannot improve operations, leading to financial strain on consumers,” Meek said.
“They need to completely divest from fossil fuels as a source of energy, and for those who don’t understand, that means no gas, no green hydrogen, no coal, no oil and no clean coal. Invest in renewables, invest in solar and wind farms for the people.”
SDCA representative Bongani Mthembu said residents were fed up with corruption and mismanagement at Eskom and spiraling tariffs.
“Nersa, we are tired. We are exhausted from coming here to say one and the same thing, and every time Eskom is done stealing all the money, they come and say our poor people, the black poor people, must cover it,” Mthembu said.
He said it seemed the hearings were just a tick-box exercise as he believed Nersa had already decided on granting the tariff hikes.
Another SDCA representative, Mvuso Ntombela, weighed in: “Many grandmothers will only find out about huge tariff increases when they go to buy electricity.”
Jacobs Hostel representative Sthembiso Mgenge said Eskom and Nersa were not aware of the “suffering” of residents.
“We face many unemployed people who are struggling to find jobs and to increase electricity prices will add to their financial woes. The higher price will lead to a higher cost of living, not only for them, but also for small businesses,” Mgenge said, urging Eskom to focus on improving infrastructure, reducing energy losses and theft of electricity, and promoting renewable energy.
“It is unfair to punish honest citizens with the highest prices,” he said.
Ward 17 committee member Nilesh Maharaj described the proposed price hikes as “unbelievable, ludicrous, inconsiderate, arrogant and biasedly calculated”.
“We have unemployed individuals who have not received salary increases for many years and those who have were fortunate to get 2-6% … most people have to pinch from their food budget … to pay for electricity,” he said.
“Eskom is trying to milk a cow that no longer has the ability to produce milk, the wells are dry, the common people are of the hope that Eskom will no longer be rewarded for mediocrity.”
groundWork researcher David Hallowes said people could not afford the hikes which would push prices in eThekwini to between R4.18 and R4.80 per kilowatt hour.
“Eskom can’t produce electricity at a price people can afford. Hence, cost-reflective pricing is not viable,” he said.
He said proposed new pricing policies centred on “cost to serve” were calculated to advantage big industrial users, who already pay less for electricity in terms of secret deals with Eskom, and to disadvantage people who conserve energy and install renewable energy sources.
The tariff would partially be used to subsidise large industrial users, pay for the rising coal prices and subsidise municipal debt, Hallowes added.
eThekwini Ratepayers and Residents Association chairperson Ish Praladh said people were “hanging themselves and jumping into rivers”, due to high electricity prices.
“We have been through heavy times with the floods and looting … that increase is going to cause a major issue, especially with our low-income families,” he said.
Verulam resident Sakhumuzi Ntombela pleaded with Nersa chairperson Nomfundo Maseti to stand up for citizens.
“I am asking you today … to go and stand against them [Eskom] and tell them, slowly the community is losing its patience … Every person has a beast who lives inside them and hunger makes them angry,” he said.
“There is a family that lost a child because of load-shedding. The child had asthma and could not use the nebulizer because there was no electricity. Now, who is responsible for the death of that child?
“Are you able to enter someone’s house and dish up from a pot that is empty? How are you allowing Eskom to have an increase when we don’t have this money?”
Maseti said the regulator would follow the correct legal process when deciding on the tariff adjustment and urged people to keep submitting their comments.
“This message that you keep repeating and saying, that we came here already with a decision we have taken, I want to assure you there is no decision. Nersa is going to do the work it should do and there is evidence that the decisions we end up reaching are not easy,” she said.