The lights stayed on for most of 2025. Your Eskom bill, unfortunately, kept climbing anyway.
Let’s start with the good news, because South Africans don’t hear it often enough when it comes to electricity: in 2025, Eskom recorded just 26 hours of load shedding for the entire year. All of it happened in April and May. After that, the country went 231 consecutive days without a single scheduled power cut. That’s according to Eskom’s own data, confirmed by Semafor in January 2026.
That’s a genuinely remarkable improvement. Improved maintenance at aging power stations deserves a lot of the credit.
Now here’s the less fun part: in April 2025, electricity tariffs went up by 12.7%. And analysts expect further increases through 2026 and 2027. So while the power stayed on, the cost of keeping it on kept rising. For most households, the monthly electricity bill is higher now than it was during the worst of load shedding.
Which raises an interesting question: if the threat has shifted from ‘no power’ to ‘expensive power,’ should the solution shift too?
Smart tech for cutting consumption
During peak load shedding, most energy investments were about survival. Buy an inverter. Get a generator. Keep the fridge and the Wi-Fi alive for four hours.
In 2026, the smarter play is reducing how much electricity you’re pulling from the grid. According to the KNX Association’s smart home trends report, automated energy management systems can cut household consumption by up to 30%. That’s not theoretical. It’s what happens when your home stops wasting electricity on things nobody’s using.
The quick wins:
- Smart geyser timers. Your geyser is probably the single biggest electricity consumer in your house. A smart timer that heats water only during off-peak hours or only when you need it can cut geyser costs by 30-40% on its own.
- Automated lighting. Lights that turn off in empty rooms, dim based on time of day, and switch off at a set time. It sounds small, but the waste from lights left on adds up fast.
- Smart plugs and power monitoring. A R300 smart plug shows you exactly how much power a specific appliance draws. Standby consumption across all your devices can account for 10% of your total bill.
Solar has become an investment, not just a backup plan
During load shedding, solar with battery storage was about keeping the lights on. In 2026, it’s increasingly about financial returns.
A 5kW hybrid solar system with 5-10kWh battery storage costs between R80,000 and R120,000 installed, according to SolarZA’s 2026 pricing. That system reduces your electricity bill by 60-80% and pays for itself in 4-6 years. After that, you’re generating free electricity for the remaining 15-20 years of the system’s lifespan.
At current Eskom rates of around R2.50 per kWh and climbing, a R100,000 solar system isn’t an expense. It’s an asset that appreciates every time tariffs go up. And if load shedding returns, you’re already covered.
If R80,000+ is out of reach right now, there are stepping stones. An inverter with a battery (R15,000 to R35,000) gives you backup for essentials and you can add solar panels later if you buy a solar-ready hybrid model.
Don’t get complacent
231 days of stable power is excellent. But the underlying issues haven’t vanished. Many of Eskom’s coal-fired power stations are old and need frequent maintenance. Plants like Medupi and Kusile continue to face design flaws and delays. The Washington Post reported that load shedding could still reduce GDP growth by 2% if it returns at scale, with the SA Reserve Bank estimating daily losses of up to R899 million during active shedding periods.
Investing in energy efficiency and backup power isn’t just about your bill. It’s about not being caught off guard if the grid wobbles again.
Take control of your power bill
Whether you start with a R300 smart plug or go all-in on solar, the principle is the same: stop being passive about electricity. The grid is more stable than it’s been in years, but the cost is only going one direction.
Dial a Nerd can assess your home energy setup and recommend the smartest next step for your budget. Whether that’s a geyser timer, a monitoring setup, or a full solar consultation, we’ll help you figure out where your money goes furthest. Because even without load shedding, nobody likes opening their electricity bill.
