Eskom Tariff Increases 2026: What the Hike Means for Going Solar

Electricity tariffs in South Africa have risen far faster than inflation for years, and each new increase changes the maths on going solar. If you have been weighing up a system, understanding the trend helps explain why so many households and businesses are making the switch now.

The long-term trend

Eskom tariff increases are approved by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), and over the past decade and a half they have repeatedly come in at double-digit percentages, compounding year after year. The result is that grid electricity costs several times more today than it did a decade ago, and the trajectory continues upward. Municipal tariffs, which add their own margin on top of Eskom's, follow the same path.

What it means for your bill

Every increase does two things at once:

• It raises the amount you pay for every unit of grid power you consume.
• It increases the value of every unit your solar system generates, because you are now avoiding a more expensive grid.

In other words, a tariff hike does not just hurt, it actively improves the case for solar that you already own or are considering.

Why payback keeps getting shorter

Solar payback is the time it takes for your savings to cover the system cost. Because that calculation depends on the price of the grid power you avoid, rising tariffs shorten payback automatically. A system that looked like a seven-year payback at last year's tariff might be closer to six at this year's. Falling hardware prices push payback down further still. We cover the full calculation in is solar worth it in South Africa.

The case for acting sooner

Waiting for prices to fall has a hidden cost: every month you stay fully on the grid, you pay tariffs that keep rising. For high daytime users especially, the savings from generating your own power compound month after month.

Lock in your savings

The best hedge against future tariff increases is to generate as much of your own power as possible. Compare system options on our solar systems overview, then get free quotes from verified installers to see how quickly a system would pay for itself at today's tariffs.