Mbabane – The Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC) has proposed an average tariff increase of 20.67 percent for the 2026/27 financial year, citing high electricity import costs and under recovery from previous years.
EEC Managing Director Ernest Mkhonta told stakeholders at the utility’s tariff public hearings that power purchases cost the company E2.096 billion in the 2024/25 financial year, representing 71 percent of total revenue. He said this figure exceeded the approved budget by seven percent due to higher-than-expected electricity demand and rising regional power prices.
Mkhonta said, “Revised power supply agreements with Eskom and the National Transmission Company of South Africa resulted in higher tariff escalations than initially assumed.” He added that electricity prices in the Day Ahead Market also climbed because of supply shortages across the region.
The Managing Director further attributed the rising costs to the weakening of the local currency, noting that the average exchange rate moved from the approved 15.3997 to 18.2233 against the US dollar, increasing the cost of imports and wheeling charges.
Despite implementing austerity measures and deferring some capital projects, Mkhonta said EEC recorded an operating loss of E247 million in 2024/25, which had grown to E391 million by November 2025, making the tariff adjustment necessary to sustain the utility financially.
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