South African businesses may have moved beyond severe loadshedding, but rising electricity tariffs and infrastructure risks are creating a new energy challenge for supply chains.
South African businesses may have moved beyond the worst periods of loadshedding, but energy uncertainty remains a major challenge as rising electricity tariffs and infrastructure pressures continue to reshape supply chain decisions.
For procurement and supply chain leaders, the focus in 2026 has shifted from simply keeping operations running during power cuts to managing the wider impact of higher energy costs, network disruptions and long term reliability concerns.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) approved electricity tariff increases of 8.76% for Eskom direct customers and 9.01% for municipal customers for the 2026/27 financial year, placing further pressure on businesses already dealing with rising operational and logistics expenses.
Paul Vos, Regional Managing Director of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) Southern Africa, said the nature of energy risk has changed.
