Why South Africa’s Power Prices Keep Rising
South Africa already has the legal tools to test whether a cost belongs in the electricity tariff, meaning that the historical failure has been using them.
Municipal tariffs went up again on 1 July 2026. A typical Johannesburg prepaid household now pays about 413 c/kWh including VAT, whereas a ferrochrome smelter on a negotiated pricing agreement pays 62 c/kWh from 1 June 2026.
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Jaco de la Rouviere is writing in a personal capacity.