A brand new Debt Rescue survey reveals that hovering electrical energy costs have left many South Africans at nighttime—actually. The research discovered that 79% of customers depend on pay as you go electrical energy, typically solely shopping for what they’ll afford, which suggests some go with out energy earlier than the tip of the month. Much more regarding, 86% of respondents stated they may now not afford electrical energy and had already begun chopping again on necessities like meals and transport earlier than the tariff enhance took impact on 1 April 2025.
Debt Rescue CEO Neil Roets warns that the timing of the rise is disastrous, particularly with winter approaching and a doable 0.5% VAT hike looming. The brand new tariff construction penalises those that use lower than 600 items a month, with mounted charges growing by almost 90% and variable charges changing into dearer for low-consumption households—about 20% extra.
