The City initially – on 13 February – approved an 11,6% increase, which was then followed by a public participation process during which a total of 890 public comments had been received by the deadline of 23 March.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) announced early in May that it had approved the Eskom Retail Tariffs and Structural Adjustment (ERTSA) application, at an average tariff increase of 8,76% for Eskom direct customers and 9,01% for municipalities.
An increase of 1,29% added by the Mbombela municipality on top of Eskom’s 9,01% brings the increase to 10,3%.
“The approved standard tariff increase of 8,76% will be implemented from 1 April 2026 until 31 March 2027 for Eskom direct customers, and the 9,01% increase will be implemented from 1 July until 30 June next year for municipal customers. This difference in percentages is brought about by the differences in implementation dates between Eskom direct customers and municipalities buying from Eskom,” Nersa said in a statement at the time.
“The FF Plus in Mbombela welcomes the public-participation process where 890 submissions were received, meaning that the effort of political parties to warn the public about the increase and the opportunity to submit opinions on the matter actually paid off,” says Ken Robertson, councillor and regional leader of the FF Plus.
“The decreased percentage increase as what was originally adopted by council is an indication that the public participation works when orchestrated correctly.”
The party initially rejected the Mbombela Local Municipality’s proposed 11,6% electricity tariff increase for the 2026/2027 financial year.
“This increase is unjustifiable and needlessly puts further financial strain on residents and businesses already struggling to make ends meet due to the high cost of living.
“It is well above the inflation rate with households expected to be the hardest hit. Poorer communities will be forced to reduce electricity consumption or switch to unsafe alternatives.
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“In addition, it will be detrimental to the local economy as it will push up operational costs. Job creation will be jeopardised while businesses’ sustainability will be undermined,” Robertson says.
He says high tariffs increase the risk of non-payment and electricity theft, further destabilising the municipal network and, ultimately, hampering service delivery to everyone.
“While taxpayers are forced to pay more, state institutions still owe the Municipality hundreds of millions, but no decisive steps are taken to recover this debt. At the same time, certain departments make excessive overtime payments averaging R18,6 million per month – a clear sign of poor cost management.”
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The DA Caucus in the City of Mbombela also rejected the initial 11,6% electricity tariff increase for the 2026/2027 financial year.
“This proposal is a blatant disregard for the financial reality of our residents,” says DA caucus leader Robert Dlamini.
“The 2024/2025 Auditor-General Report revealed that Mbombela loses over R466 million – roughly 30% of its electricity – annually due to illegal connections and crumbling infrastructure,” he says.
National Treasury data also showed that out of 216 000 households, the city only collects revenue from just over 25 000 households.
“It is ethically bankrupt to ask a small group of paying residents to subsidise a 30% loss caused by a broken billing system and failed credit control. We demand that the municipality realign its budget with the NERSA-approved 9,01% and focus on fixing its billing engine rather than squeezing struggling families,” he says.
