During a recent special council meeting of the Ekurhuleni Metro Council, the Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) voted against the Metro’s proposed electricity tariffs for 2026/27, while the majority of councillors accepted the increase.
In the debate on the matter, the Freedom Front Plus emphasised that the Metro is under no obligation to implement the maximum increase proposed by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA). The fact that the Council missed the deadline in March to submit an application for a lower increase to NERSA led to the misconception that the maximum increase of 9,01% has to be adopted automatically.
The Freedom Front Plus pointed out that most residents simply cannot afford this increase. Even the Metro’s own public participation report indicates that 494 of the 503 submissions are against the proposed increase, with only nine in favour.
Ekurhuleni would be able to charge lower tariffs if the Metro did not have to repeatedly write off hundreds of millions due to maladministration, defective upgrades and poor maintenance resulting in technical losses.
To make matters worse, the Metro is experiencing unprecedented levels of electricity theft and while offenders can apply for amnesty, honest residents are forced to shell out even more.
The Freedom Front Plus also objected to adopting recommendations regarding unknown, future changes by Eskom as well as the fact that the Council merely “takes note” of public comments without supplying councillors with a complete record of all submissions.
Residents and interested parties are encouraged to lodge written complaints regarding the electricity tariff hike with NERSA before 10 May.
