Eskom has opened its first public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at two shopping centres in KwaZulu-Natal, MyBroadband reported.
The chargers are at the Gateway Theatre of Shopping in Umhlanga and The Pavilion Shopping Centre in Durban.
Seeralin Nayager, a project execution middle manager at Eskom, shared the news in a LinkedIn post. Nayager called the launch a landmark milestone for Eskom and for electric transport in South Africa.
“The future of South African transport is electric, and it’s open for business,” Nayager said, inviting EV drivers in KZN and visitors to come and charge their cars.
Each station has two fast direct current (DC) charging guns. These can charge at up to 120kW. Each station also has one alternating current (AC) port that charges at up to 22kW.
According to MyBroadband, a typical EV with a 60kWh battery can charge from 20% to 80% in about 35 to 40 minutes. This is only if the car supports the top DC speed of 120kW.
Drivers will pay R5.88 per kWh at the DC chargers and R4.71 per kWh at the AC chargers. MyBroadband said this is much lower than at most public charging stations.
GridCars, which runs the most charging stations of any operator in South Africa, charges R7.35 per kWh for DC charging. GridCars is also an Eskom partner. It already has a public charger at Gateway, where the price is still R7.35 per kWh.
Eskom first put up EV chargers in August 2024, but those were not open to the public. That pilot had 10 charging stations at five Eskom sites in Midrand, Brackenfell, Pietermaritzburg, Rustenburg and Mbombela.
In September 2025, the power utility showed off its first 20 EVs. It said it planned to move its whole vehicle fleet to electric by 2035.
At that time, Eskom also said it would build 55 public EV charging stations over two years. MyBroadband said that, one year and a month later, only two of these stations are open.
Some people in the public charging industry are worried about Eskom entering the market. They fear the utility could use its strong position to push out competitors.
MyBroadband earlier reported claims that Eskom offered businesses lower notified maximum demand (NMD) fees if they installed its chargers. The NMD fee is one of the biggest costs of running a charging station.
The publication said this could give some properties a price advantage over others. It said such a deal could draw the attention of the Competition Commission and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA).
Eskom usually needs NERSA approval for negotiated pricing agreements, which give large customers discounts on electricity tariffs.
Eskom took three months to reply to MyBroadband’s questions about the claims. It said it would use its existing tariff rules and regulatory requirements to set pilot prices.
For final prices, Eskom said it would use “appropriate” tariffs developed and approved by NERSA. MyBroadband said these tariffs have not yet been released.
Source: this article is based on reporting by MyBroadband. Image: MyBroadband. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Business desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Anelisa Nkuna covers business and money news for Tzaneen Voice. Anelisa reports on the rand, fuel prices, interest rates, jobs, Eskom, Transnet, farming and company results. The aim is simple: explain what the numbers mean for household budgets, small businesses and workers in South Africa.