RC 260818SAfm
Tuesday, 18 August 2026
Electricity pricing reform dominated the episode, with calls for unbundled bills, higher free basic power for poor households, and tighter rules on resellers and losses.
- 18:20
Revised electricity pricing policy will be gazetted later this week, with 30 days for public comment before Cabinet finalises it and NERSA and municipalities are brought under the new rules.
- 18:21
Draft proposals would unbundle bills into energy, network and ancillary charges, and cap what Eskom and municipalities can recover for technical losses, illegal connections and unpaid debt.
- 18:28
Free basic electricity for indigent households could rise from 50kWh to 200–300kWh a month without extra Treasury money, using the existing R21 billion electricity subsidy more effectively.
- 18:33
Rooftop solar would move to net billing, with excess daytime generation credited against a customer’s bill, while resale mark-ups in estates and township rentals would be regulated.
- 18:47
Fuel suppliers backed proposed slate levy changes, saying they would ease cash-flow pressure and help smooth price shocks after the slate balance swung from almost R18 billion negative to R10 billion negative.