Cabinet Approves Draft Revised Electricity Pricing Policy for Public Comment
Brought to you by SAnews: The Department of Electricity and Energy (DEE) has published the Draft Revised Electricity Pricing Policy (EPP) for public comment, setting an updated regulatory framework for electricity tariff determination across South Africa.
Following Cabinet approval, the revised policy replaces the original 2008 EPP. The revision aligns the pricing regime with structural and statutory reforms introduced under the Electricity Regulation Amendment Act, 2024, accommodating increased private sector generation, distributed energy resources, bilateral electricity trading, and transmission wheeling arrangements.
The draft policy provides regulatory direction on the following key areas:
- Progressive implementation of cost-reflective electricity tariffs alongside low-income consumer protection mechanisms;
- Standardisation of transparent, understandable, and non-discriminatory tariff structures;
- Cost-causation allocation across generation, transmission, distribution, and retail supply activities;
- Wholesale electricity pricing rules, capacity charges, and market-support mechanisms under the multi-market model;
- Development and uniform application of transmission and distribution use-of-system (TUOS and DUOS) charges;
- Itemised billing transparency for end-user electricity accounts;
- Lifeline tariffs, cross-subsidies, and Free Basic Electricity (FBE) funding frameworks; and
- Negotiated pricing agreements (NPAs) for qualifying energy-intensive or distressed industrial consumers.
Submissions must be delivered by 20 September 2026 via the following channels:
- By email: [email protected]
- By hand: House 192 Visagie Street, Corner Paul Kruger Street, Pretoria
- By post: Private Bag X96, Pretoria, 0001
The gazetted draft policy may be accessed via the Government Printing Works portal at www.gpw.gov.za.
What this means for you, your business, or your clients
- For yourself: Residential consumers face restructured retail tariffs with unbundled fixed and variable network charges, shifting billing models as cost-reflectivity and smart metering expand.
- For your business: Commercial entities operating on-site solar, wheeling arrangements, or embedded generation must assess the forthcoming use-of-system charges and capacity tariffs to model future energy costs accurately.
- For your clients: Industrial, agricultural, and commercial clients operating high-consumption loads should evaluate eligibility criteria for negotiated pricing agreements and submit technical comments before the 20 September 2026 deadline.
Originally published at https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/have-your-say-draft-revised-electricity-pricing-policy