JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's energy regulator said on Sunday that it ‍granted state ‍utility Eskom larger electricity rate increases for ​its next two financial years than originally set after admitting ⁠errors in its earlier calculations.

Eskom's prices will now rise ⁠8.76% in April ‌this year and 8.83% in April 2027 instead of 5.36% and 6.19%, regulator ⁠Nersa said in a statement.

It added that the revised tariff increases balanced Eskom's financial sustainability with customer affordability.

Eskom, a former monopoly that still supplies ⁠the bulk of ​the electricity in Africa's biggest economy, has been mired in a financial crisis ‍for years, which it partly blames on Nersa's tariff decisions.

But ​the utility made its first full-year profit in eight years last year, helped by a multi-year government bailout and a sharp turnaround in the performance of its coal-fired power stations.

After first setting rate increases in January 2025, Nersa admitted errors in calculating Eskom's tariffs for the 2025/26 to 2027/28 financial years and ⁠reached a settlement with Eskom in ‌July.

But in December the high court rejected the settlement and ordered Nersa to make a fresh ‌determination ⁠on Eskom's tariffs after getting submissions from the public. (Reporting by ⁠Alexander Winning; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)