Tembisa on Edge: Electricity Price Hikes Spark Massive Protests

Tembisa, South Africa – Tensions in Tembisa have reached a critical breaking point as residents barricaded streets and clashed with police over a staggering 24.4% electricity price increase, one of the highest in the country. The unrest follows months of failed negotiations with the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, which added a 13.4% municipal surcharge on top of Eskom’s 11% national electricity hike, pushing many households to financial brink.

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Violence Erupts Before Dialogue

Community leader Thabo Mokoena, injured by rubber bullets, asked, “Why must they come shooting first?” Residents claim that police used disproportionate force against initially peaceful protests demanding better service delivery.

Viral posts on social media show growing frustration, with 78% of households now spending over 15% of their income on electricity alone, leaving little for food, transport, and other essentials.

Service Delivery Crisis in Tembisa

Despite paying premium electricity rates, Tembisa residents continue to face:

• 4–6 hour daily blackouts, disrupting work and daily life
• Unsafe, aging infrastructure, causing electrocutions and property damage
• 42% illegal electricity connections, driven by unaffordability

Local community task teams report 17 unanswered petitions to municipal offices since January, highlighting systemic neglect and governance failures.

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National Implications of the Tembisa Unrest

Tembisa’s electricity crisis is not isolated. Analysts warn that compounded municipal and Eskom price hikes are creating unsustainable pressure on households nationwide. Currently, 14 other municipalities face the risk of similar protests if tariffs continue to rise unchecked.

The ANC’s Ekurhuleni caucus has called an emergency meeting amid fears that unrest could spread, highlighting the volatile intersection of economic strain, service delivery failures, and governance challenges.