The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Ephraim Mogale Municipality notes with concern the 7.7% electricity tariff increase for the new financial year ending June 2026.
While we acknowledge that the Municipality is stuck between Eskom’s pricing and community affordability- and although notably lower than the 9.01% increase proposed by NERSA- the 7.7% increase remains an added financial burden to already overextended households and businesses.
Electricity is a basic necessity, not a privilege, and continued increases are steadily forcing residents to make difficult choices to make ends meet during the current energy crisis.
The root of the problem cannot be ignored. Eskom’s prolonged failures—driven by corruption, mismanagement, and lack of accountability—have created a crisis now unfairly pushed onto the end user. Residents are effectively paying for a broken system they did not create.
This is not just an economic issue, it is a direct consequence of governance failure.
The DA in Marble Hall maintains that:
- Eskom must be held fully accountable for escalating electricity costs.
- Transparency and consequence management must be enforced without compromise.
- The financial burden on residents cannot continue to rise unchecked.
While we acknowledge the effort by Ephraim Mogale Local Municipality to keep the increase below NERSA’s proposal, the financial struggles of the community are a serious matter to the DA because we care about the rising cost of living and will fight high electricity costs in all ways we can.