EV charging
EV home charging cost by municipal tariff 2026/27: what 1 500 km a month costs in 15 tariffs
Charging an EV at home for 1 500 km a month (about 264 kWh including losses) costs between R422 and R1 384 in 2026/27 depending on your municipality and tariff. Time-of-use off-peak rates are cheapest — Msunduzi TD.1 at about R422, George Flex at R477, eThekwini residential TOU at R588 and Eskom Homeflex at R667 — while top inclining blocks in Polokwane, Mbombela and Tshwane cost R1 350–R1 384 a month, more than SAEV’s R3.49 public DC rate.
Updated 27 October 2026 · Worked examples use published tariffs; not a formal quote, credit decision or financial advice.
Answer first: The tariff you charge on matters more than the car you drive. The same 264 kWh a month costs three times as much on a top inclining block as on a time-of-use off-peak rate, and in four municipalities the top block costs more than a fast public DC charger. Every number below is incl. VAT and comes from the 2026/27 tariff schedule named in the source column. Related: cost to charge an EV · TOU and prepaid EV charging · EV plus solar household bill.
The assumption: 1 500 km a month
A compact EV uses about 16 kWh per 100 km at the wheels. Home AC charging loses roughly 10% between the meter and the battery, so 1 500 km a month needs about 264 kWh at the meter — about 18 kWh per 100 km. That is the same basis we use across the EV desk, so the numbers here line up with home AC vs public DC.
Monthly EV charging cost by tariff, 2026/27
| Tariff (2026/27) | c/kWh incl. VAT | Cost per 100 km | 264 kWh a month | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Msunduzi TD.1 domestic TOU, off-peak (Sep–May) | 159.94 | R28.79 | R422 | NERSA decision, Msunduzi 2026/27 |
| George Flex TOU, off-peak (Sep–May) | 180.85 | R32.55 | R477 | NERSA decision, George 2026/27 |
| eThekwini residential TOU, off-peak | 222.90 | R40.12 | R588 | NERSA decision, eThekwini 2026/27 |
| George Flex TOU, off-peak (Jun–Aug) | 226.92 | R40.85 | R599 | NERSA decision, George 2026/27 |
| Eskom Homeflex, off-peak (all-in) | 252.83 | R45.51 | R667 | Eskom Tariffs and Charges Booklet 2026/27 |
| Msunduzi A.1 credit energy rate (plus per-amp access charge) | 260.59 | R46.91 | R688 | NERSA decision, Msunduzi 2026/27 |
| Eskom Homepower (all-in) | 355.56 | R64.00 | R939 | Eskom Tariffs and Charges Booklet 2026/27 |
| George domestic standard scale | 371.31 | R66.84 | R980 | NERSA decision, George 2026/27 |
| eThekwini domestic | 411.09 | R74.00 | R1 085 | NERSA decision, eThekwini 2026/27 |
| Msunduzi prepaid straight-line 60 A | 415.45 | R74.78 | R1 097 | NERSA decision, Msunduzi 2026/27 |
| Ekurhuleni Tariff B residential | 422.74 | R76.09 | R1 116 | Ekurhuleni Annexure F 2026/27 tariffs |
| City Power Prepaid High, top block | 436.59 | R78.59 | R1 153 | City of Johannesburg / City Power 2026/27 tariffs |
| Cape Town Home User, top block | 469.06 | R84.43 | R1 238 | City of Cape Town 2026/27 Annexure 6 |
| Tshwane block 4 (above 650 kWh) | 512.34 | R92.22 | R1 353 | NERSA decision, City of Tshwane 2026/27 |
| Mbombela block 4 (above 600 kWh) | 521.33 | R93.84 | R1 376 | NERSA decision, Mbombela 2026/27 |
| Polokwane block 4 (above 600 kWh) | 524.29 | R94.37 | R1 384 | NERSA decision, Polokwane 2026/27 |
Excl.-VAT schedules (Msunduzi, George, Ekurhuleni, Mbombela, Polokwane) are converted at 15%. Fixed and access charges are not included, because they do not change when you add an EV — except where a bigger supply raises a per-amp charge, covered below.
Public charging on the same basis
| Public option | Price per kWh | 264 kWh a month |
|---|---|---|
| SAEV Richmond, battery above 90% | R2.49 | R657 |
| SAEV Richmond, standard | R3.49 | R921 |
| Eskom mall AC (Gateway / Pavilion) | R4.71 | R1 243 |
| Eskom mall DC | R5.88 | R1 552 |
| GridCars DC | ≈R7.35 | R1 940 |
SAEV and GridCars prices as reported by DriveElectric (October 2026); Eskom mall prices from our Eskom Gateway / Pavilion report. SAEV’s battery-backed site at the Solar MD factory in Richmond prices DC below every top-block home tariff in the table. A Pretoria, Polokwane or Mbombela driver on a top block with no TOU option pays more at home than at SAEV’s standard R3.49 — cheapest public DC.
Why an EV lands on your most expensive block
Inclining block tariffs price each kWh by where it falls in the month. A household already using 600 kWh in Polokwane adds 264 kWh of EV charging entirely at block 4 — 455.90 c excl. VAT. In Tshwane the same EV pushes a 500 kWh home through block 3 (413.26 c) into block 4 (445.51 c), both excl. VAT. The EV is billed at the margin, not the average, and the margin is the top block.
That is the strongest argument for moving to a time-of-use tariff when you buy an EV. In George and Msunduzi the TOU off-peak rate is less than half the standard domestic energy rate, and Eskom’s Homeflex is the time-of-use option for Eskom-supplied homes — Homeflex vs Homepower. Check the TOU fixed charges and the winter peak before switching: George Flex charges 791.68 c excl. VAT in winter peak hours, and Msunduzi TD.1 797.94 c. A charger scheduled for off-peak never touches those rates; a geyser or oven left on at 18:00 does.
Supply size and access charges
A 7.4 kW single-phase wallbox draws 32 A. In municipalities that charge per amp, upgrading the supply to make room costs every month: Msunduzi charges R22.92 per amp per phase on Scale A.1 and George R6.98 per amp, both excl. VAT (NERSA decision, Msunduzi 2026/27; NERSA decision, George 2026/27). Load management is cheaper than a bigger breaker — a smart charger that throttles when the geyser runs keeps a 60 A supply — EV charger load management · home charger cost.
Solar and battery charging
Daytime solar charging is the cheapest kWh of all when the car is home during the day. Most commuters are out in solar hours, so the practical route is a battery buffer: store midday solar, charge the car in the evening from the battery and off-peak grid. A 16 kWh pack covers a day’s 50 km commute (about 9 kWh) with room for the house — 16 kWh battery cost · charge an EV from solar · cheap EV solar sizing.
What to do this month
- Find your tariff code on the bill and the block you buy in — read your bill.
- If your municipality offers a domestic TOU tariff, price the switch with your EV kWh added.
- Schedule charging for off-peak in the car or charger app.
- If you are on a top block with no TOU option, compare home cost with the nearest battery-backed public DC site.
Quick questions
How much does it cost to charge an EV at home in South Africa in 2026?
For 1 500 km a month (about 264 kWh with charging losses) it costs R422–R1 384 incl. VAT on 2026/27 tariffs. Off-peak time-of-use rates land at R422–R667; top-block prepaid and conventional rates in most metros land at R1 085–R1 384.
Which municipal tariff is cheapest for EV charging?
Of the tariffs compared here, Msunduzi’s domestic TOU off-peak rate (139.08 c/kWh excl. VAT in low season) is cheapest at about R422 a month, followed by George Flex off-peak (157.26 c excl.) at R477 and eThekwini residential TOU off-peak (222.90 c incl.) at R588.
Is home charging cheaper than public DC charging?
On a TOU tariff, always. On a top inclining block, not always: 264 kWh at Tshwane’s top block costs about R1 353, more than the R921 it costs at SAEV’s R3.49/kWh public DC rate and in the range of R2.49 when SAEV’s battery is above 90%.
Does an EV push my house into a higher tariff block?
Yes. On an inclining block tariff an EV’s 264 kWh lands on top of the household’s existing use, so almost every EV kWh is billed at block 3 or block 4. That is why a TOU tariff or solar-plus-battery charging cuts EV costs most.