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JOHANNESBURG, Feb 8 (Reuters) – South Africa’s energy regulator said on Sunday that it granted state \u200butility Eskom larger electricity rate increases for \u200cits next two financial years than originally set after admitting \u200cerrors in its earlier calculations.<\/p>\n
Eskom’s prices will now rise 8.76% in April this year and 8.83% in April 2027 instead of 5.36% and 6.19%, regulator Nersa \u2060said in a \u200cstatement.<\/p>\n
It added that the revised tariff increases balanced Eskom’s financial sustainability with customer affordability.<\/p>\n
Eskom, \u200da former monopoly that still supplies the bulk of the electricity in Africa’s biggest economy, has been mired \u200bin a financial crisis for years, which it \u200cpartly blames on Nersa’s tariff decisions.<\/p>\n
But the utility made its first full-year profit in eight years last year, helped by a multi-year government bailout and a sharp turnaround in the performance of its coal-fired \u2060power stations.<\/p>\n
After first setting rate \u200bincreases in January 2025, Nersa \u200badmitted errors in calculating Eskom’s tariffs for the 2025\/26 to 2027\/28 financial years and \u200dreached a \u2060settlement with Eskom in July.<\/p>\n
But in December the high court rejected the settlement and ordered Nersa \u2060to make a fresh determination on Eskom’s tariffs after \u200cgetting submissions from the public.<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Alexander Winning; \u200cEditing by Cynthia Osterman)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n