De Ruyter vindicated: Australia leaves SA in the dark on electricity pricing

When André de Ruyter argued that Australia's renewable energy revolution offered lessons for South Africa, critics fired back that electricity in Australia was roughly twice the price of Eskom's. They were wrong — and the numbers have moved further against that argument since. MyBroadband's analysis shows that a decade of above-inflation Eskom tariff hikes, 179% in total, has all but closed the gap. In early 2026, the average Australian flat tariff actually undercuts Eskom's standard residential rate. Factor in the salary differential, and the picture becomes damning: electricity consumes 10% of the average South African formal-sector wage, compared with just 3% in Australia.. By Hanno Labuschagne.Analysis by MyBroadband shows that Australian households are generally much better off when it comes to electricity bills than South Africans.Since 2016, Australia’s wholesale electricity prices have increased by roughly 30% to 50% due to several factors.The main drivers have been surging and unpredictable gas prices, electricity infrastructure upgrades, and the decommissioning of coal plants.However, more recently, prices have started to decline due to the rapid rollout of cheap renewable power, especially solar power.The share of renewable power in the country’s electricity supply recently reached 50%. Plunging battery prices have also enabled a large proportion of this capacity to be made dispatchable.Former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter recently highlighted how Australia’s uptake of renewables and batteries cut wholesale electricity prices by 44% in the last quarter of 2025.He suggested that this approach could also reduce, and even reverse, the relentless upward trend in electricity tariffs in South Africa, rather than doubling down on extending the life of coal.De Ruyter’s view was widely criticised on social media, with some users commenting that Australia’s electricity prices were around double South Africa’s.While that was true a few years ago, MyBroadband has found that Eskom’s above-inflation increases have pushed South Africa’s electricity prices to nearly the same level as Australia’s.While the wholesale prices of Australia’s various power utilities increased by 30% to 50%, Eskom’s increased by 179%.According to GlobalPetrolPrices.com, the average residential electricity price in Australia between 2023 and 2026 was US$0.257 (R4.27) per kWh.South Africa’s price was $0.204 (R3.38) per kWh, about 79% of Australia’s price. While substantially cheaper, it is not near the 50% level where some critics of De Ruyter’s insights suggested it was.In addition, a comparison focused on more recent electricity tariffs showed the gap between Australian and South African tariffs narrowing.In September 2025, the residential electricity price in Australia was about AU$0.40 per kWh, or US$0.287 (R4.74), compared to $0.279 (R4.61) in South Africa..Australia’s home electricity prices dropping below South Africa’s.MyBroadband also looked at electricity tariffs in Australia in early 2026, following the wholesale declines. Flat energy tariffs ranged from around AU$0.20 (R2.33) to AU$0.34 (R3.97) across nine major territories.The average tariff across the country’s nine provinces was around AU$0.28, working out to R3.32 at the time of publication.On Eskom’s most common residential tariff plan, the per-kWh rate is R3.56, more expensive than the average.Time-of-use tariffs range from AU$0.18 (R2.10) during off-peak periods to AU$0.55 (R6.42) during peak demand times.On Eskom’s most common ToU tariff, the off-peak rate is lower at R1.83, but peak tariffs during the winter are higher at R8.13 per kWh.Australia’s daily fixed electricity charges are also lower, at about R393.60 per month, compared with R535.80 for Eskom Homepower 4 and Homeflex 4..Much lower cost relative to salaries.The tariffs themselves are just one part of the equation; it is also important to consider electricity as a living cost relative to income.Australian residents earn far more than South Africans. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the average salary in March 2026 was about AU$7,147 (R83,317) per month.According to Statistics South Africa’s latest Quarterly Employment Survey, the average salary paid to formal sector workers in the last quarter of 2025 was R29,490.A household that consumes Eskom’s average 656kWh per month on Homepower 4 will spend R2,871.16 on that electricity, which makes up nearly 10% of the average salary.The same amount of electricity will cost an average of R2,571.52 in Australia, working out to 3% of the average salary in that country..Big business much better off in South Africa.Another noteworthy data point from GlobalPetrolPrices’ comparison was how differently South Africa and Australia treated household and business electricity users.In Australia, the average electricity tariff for businesses was 5% higher than the average residential tariff. In South Africa, the average business electricity price was 49% lower than the residential rate.Small businesses in Australia get some relief, paying about 18% less than big businesses. In South Africa, small businesses pay roughly 120% more than large businesses.Australia’s low electricity consumers also pay a higher effective rate per kWh than energy-heavy users due to fixed costs. However, the difference is far lower than in South Africa.In South Africa, these households pay 75% more than households with high electricity consumption, compared with 45% more than in Australia..Australia’s average electricity prices — Residential vs business.South Africa’s average electricity prices — Residential vs business.*This article was originally published by MyBroandband and has been republished with permission..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox every morning on weekdays. 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De Ruyter vindicated: Australia leaves SA in the dark on electricity pricing

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