Electric car charging price increase for motorists living in this South African province

Electric vehicle (EV) owners who rely on the Eastern Cape’s public charging network are paying 50c more per kWh this week, following price changes that were made on 1 July 2026.

This is according to the Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC) Eastern Cape, which confirmed the adjustment to the wholesale tariff across its provincial charging network.

The tariff increased from R7.00 per kWh to R7.50 per kWh, and applies uniformly across all charging stations within the AIDC’s Eastern Cape network.

These are located in kuGompo City (formerly East London), Gcuwa, Gqeberha, Komani, Libode, Makhanda, Maletswai, Middelburg, Nxuba, Port St. John’s, Robert Sobukwe Town (Graaff-Reinet), Stormsriver, The Windfarm Garage, and Willowmore.

The AIDC in the Eastern Cape explained that its tariff revision reflects the anticipated national electricity tariff increase and will ensure that EV charging in the province will remain accessible and affordable.

It claims that at R7.50 per kWh, the rate continues to be highly competitive, significantly below prevailing industry benchmarks, which it says can reach approximately R11.76 per kWh at other public charging stations.

“Our foremost priority is to enable and support the transition to eMobility and the adoption of electric vehicles across the Eastern Cape,” the AIDC Eastern Cape stated.

“This measured adjustment is essential to sustain ongoing investment in reliable, high-quality infrastructure and to uphold the rigorous standards of the Eastern Cape fast-charging DC network.”

The AIDC-EC remains committed to ensuring the cost of charging EVs remains affordable and attractive for the province’s motorists.

The AIDC’s public charger network in the Eastern Cape is as follows:

Billions invested in the Eastern Cape’s EV charging network

Over the past two years, the Eastern Cape has spent more than R11 billion installing universal electric vehicle charging stations across the province. 

This was confirmed earlier this year by Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, in response to Rise Mzansi’s Makashule Gana in the National Assembly.

Gana had questioned the minister and his department on their progress in implementing the 2023 White Paper on electric vehicles.

In response, Minister Tau noted that there is no ringfenced budget, but that existing programmes would be used where applicable, while other interventions do not require direct funding.

Speaking on the budget required to implement the EV White Paper, Minister Tau highlighted that there is no ringfenced budget.

In 2024, however, the Minister of Finance announced the reprioritisation of R964 million over the medium term to support the transition to electric vehicles.

This money has reportedly already been spent on EV charging infrastructure upgrades in the Eastern Cape.

“A number of charging stations are being installed by a variety of private and public sector stakeholders,” the minister confirmed at the time.

Partnerships involving a number of Eastern Cape Government departments, as well as the AIDC in the province, have successfully rolled out several universal public-owned EV charging stations.

At the time of the minister’s response – in January – he confirmed that the total cost of installing these amounted to around R11.4 billion.