Community members, outside NERSA offices, protest against Eskom MYPD6 tariff hikes, calling for a shift for more affordable renewable energy. “Access to electricity is a right, not a luxury.”
Today, Earthlife Africa Johannesburg – together with community partners and the Women in Energy and Climate Change Forum (WECCF) – gathered outside the offices of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) in Pretoria to reject further Eskom electricity tariff increases under the Sixth Multi-Year Price Determination (MYPD6). Activists warn that the proposed hikes may deepen energy poverty and entrench inequality, ignoring the daily realities of South African households already struggling under high electricity costs. Yesterday was the deadline for public comment.
“Majority of South Africans are already buckling under the pressures of the high cost of living. Another electricity price increase – which is a consequence of Eskom’s failures – will worsen inequality and energy poverty,” says Thabo Sibeko, Senior Program Officer at Earthlife Africa. “It is high time that Eskom and NERSA act in the public interest by prioritising affordable, socially just energy solutions.”
NERSA’s MYPD6 Decision Disputed by Communities Facing Energy Poverty
While NERSA claims it reduced Eskom’s requested increases and followed a public process, Earthlife Africa says the decision still puts Eskom’s finances ahead of people’s needs, forcing struggling households to pay more for a system that continues to fail them. Energy poverty remains widespread, with around 43 percent of households unable to meet basic electricity needs, forcing many to rely on unsafe fuels such as paraffin, candles, and wood, which harm health, safety, and dignity.
Women from townships in Gauteng say that rising electricity costs is taking its toll on households and small businesses.
“You cannot claim to balance affordability with sustainability when nearly half the country cannot afford adequate electricity, and tariff increases continue to punish those already carrying the heaviest burden,” said Sibeko. “NERSA speaks about cutting costs on paper. But communities see no improvement in infrastructure, no reliable supply, and no relief in their monthly bills.”
Earthlife Africa also challenges NERSA’s claim that Eskom’s performance and public concerns were adequately addressed. Despite years of tariff increases, many townships and rural areas continue to experience prolonged outages, broken transformers, and delayed repairs.
“If NERSA is serious about oversight, then approval of higher revenues should be tied to visible improvements in service, transparency, and accountability. That is not, however, what communities are experiencing,” Sibeko adds.
Women and Low-Income Households Struggle Under Eskom Electricity Price Hikes
The WECCF, a grassroots platform of women from townships and informal settlements in Gauteng, says NERSA’s decision fails to reflect the realities of the majority of households, where women often manage scarce resources. Rising electricity prices are directly linked to hunger, stress, household instability, and economic vulnerability.
Activists call on NERSA and the government to prioritise affordable, clean, and socially just electricity for all South Africans.
“We are the ones who must choose between buying food and buying electricity. Small businesses run by women collapse because they cannot afford power. Conflicts in households rise, and even lives are at risk when people dependent on oxygen or refrigerated medication cannot keep the power on,” says Ntombizodwa Rannyadi. “These are not abstract impacts. They are the daily experiences of many South Africans.”
The WECCF also disputes claims that public participation was meaningful. Members only learned of the MYPD6 process through the forum, noting little to no outreach via local radio, community platforms, or public education.
“You cannot say the public has been heard when the majority of poor communities never even knew this process was happening,” says Rannyadi.
Call for Energy Justice and Community-Owned Renewable Energy to Reduce Eskom Tariffs
Sibeko notes that NERSA’s decision entrenches a system that prioritises large-scale, centralised electricity generation that depends on fossil fuels. This is despite South Africa’s Just Transition Framework calling for a shift to cleaner, competitive technologies and socially just outcomes.
Earthlife Africa the various forums it facilitates, including the WECCF, are calling for public investment to support community-based renewable energy, including socially owned projects and household-level solar. These solutions would reduce pressure on the grid, lower pollution, and create tangible economic benefits at local level.
Activist chanting: “NERSA are you on the side of the people or on the side of profit” outside the NERSA head offices.
“A genuine balance would mean investing in people’s power – not forcing them to pay more for a system that continues to fail them. The MYPD6 has been widely critiqued. The reliance on coal and expensive diesel-powered generation keep tariffs structurally high, while delays in scaling up renewable energy and decentralised generation limit opportunities for cheaper electricity,” says Sibeko.
Rannyadi adds, “Until women in informal settlements, township entrepreneurs, children trying to study, and elders dependent on medical equipment can afford and rely on electricity, no price increase can be justified, and no process can be called fair.”
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