Pay at Eskom has come a long way. The average salary went from R72,133 in 1994 to R1.165 million in 2026. That’s a big leap, and plenty of South Africans will have an opinion about it.
The numbers come from Eskom’s own annual reports, covering 32 years. They show that employee costs have shot up in the last few years. And this is happening while the country is still trying to put load shedding behind it.
A simple look at the headline numbers
Let’s keep this simple. The average yearly pay at Eskom is now about 16 times what it was in 1994. Some of that is just inflation, since prices have risen a lot over three decades, and the figures aren’t adjusted for it. But the recent jump is what really catches the eye.
Look at the last three years alone. The average salary package went from R816,000 to R1.165 million. That’s a rise of roughly 43%. It’s an easy number to remember, and it tells you how fast things have moved.
Here’s a quick view of the main figures:
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Average salary in 1994 | R72,133 |
| Average salary package three years ago | R816,000 |
| Average salary in 2026 | R1.165 million |
| Salary bill in 2023 | R32.3 billion |
| Salary bill in 2026 | R50.4 billion |
The total salary bill climbed from R32.3 billion to R50.4 billion over that time. That’s about 56% more, and the reports call it the biggest increase in Eskom’s history.
How Eskom looked in the 1990s
Go back to 1994 and Eskom had a good name. People saw it as a well run utility that kept the lights on at a price most households could handle. Productivity was also moving the right way. In 1985 the company sold 1.7 GWh of electricity for each employee. By 1995 that was 2.7 GWh.
The praise kept coming. In 2001, Eskom won Global Power Company of the Year at the Financial Times Global Energy Awards. That was a proud moment for the country.
Here’s the part many people forget. Eskom was shrinking its workforce back then. Staff numbers dropped from 39,760 in 1994 to 31,548 in 2006. So the company was getting more done with fewer people.
The hiring boom that changed the picture
Then things turned. Over the next eight years Eskom hired heavily, and its headcount grew from 31,548 to 46,919.
MyBroadband reported earlier that this recruitment drive was tied to pressure from government to meet employment equity targets, especially for black women. The same reporting claimed that many hires were made on race and gender, not skills. Those are claims from that report, and they’re still debated across South Africa.
Hiring slowed after 2014, but the numbers kept inching up. By 2018 Eskom had 48,628 employees, its highest ever. And what came next? Not smoother service. South Africa got the worst load shedding in its history. Clearly, a bigger payroll didn’t mean more power.
Cutting jobs, then adding them back
Under former CEO Andre de Ruyter, Eskom cut staff to 39,601. That didn’t last long.
When the new board arrived, led by chairman Mteto Nyati, headcount started rising again. By the end of the 2026 financial year, Eskom had 43,274 employees. That’s the highest in five years, though still below the 2018 peak.
Why salaries rose so quickly
Headcount is only half of it. What Eskom pays each person matters just as much.
Nyati says the earlier management put a five year salary freeze in place and stopped all performance incentives. In his view that was unfair and badly demotivating. It hurt everyone, including people doing good work or handling critical maintenance.
The new board undid all of it. Salary increases came back. So did performance incentives and production bonuses.
You can see how the bill grows from there. End a long freeze, bring back bonuses, add more people, and the total climbs fast.
What this means for ordinary South Africans
Most households will ask one thing: does this touch my pocket?
It might. Eskom’s finances are linked to the price of electricity, so when costs rise, tariffs and the wider economy feel some pressure. Plenty of families already struggle with electricity bills, so news like this lands badly.
But there’s another side. Engineers, technicians and maintenance crews are the people who keep the grid running. The board argues that fair pay and rewards for good work keep skilled people from leaving, and that a five year freeze was bound to cause damage.
So it isn’t an easy call. One camp wants to know if the money is being spent wisely. The other says staff were owed a fix after years of nothing.
Pay versus performance
The big question is whether higher pay will bring better performance at the power stations.
History isn’t very comforting here. In 2018 Eskom had its largest workforce ever, and the country still got its worst load shedding. More staff doesn’t automatically give you more electricity.
The 1990s show the opposite. Eskom ran with fewer people and earned global praise. The takeaway is plain enough: productivity counts as much as headcount and pay.
Today Eskom has more employees than in five years, and it pays them more than ever. Whether that turns into stable power and fairer costs for the public is what many of us will be watching.
What to watch next
If you want to follow this story, a few things are worth keeping an eye on:
- Eskom’s next annual report, which will show updated staff numbers and pay
- Any new electricity tariff decisions
- Progress on maintenance and how reliable the power stations are
- Whether performance bonuses are tied to clear results
For official information, you can visit the Eskom website, and for general updates on energy and public entities, the South African Government portal is a good place to start.
The bottom line
The story is easy to sum up. In 1994 the average Eskom employee earned R72,133 a year. In 2026 it’s R1.165 million. The salary bill has reached R50.4 billion, and the workforce stands at 43,274.
Supporters say the raises fixed an unfair freeze. Critics say costs are climbing while service hasn’t fully recovered. Both have a point. What people want is simple: reliable power at a fair price. The next few years will show whether this spending gets us there.
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