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Eskom has not announced a generally available R1.20/kWh electricity offer for bitcoin miners. The figure is a reported benchmark in a proposed two-year flexible-load pilot that South Africa’s energy regulator, NERSA, was consulting on as of October 2026. It applies to a specific customer category and region, and it does not establish the full cost of electricity or whether mining would be profitable.
What the reported R1.20/kWh figure means
TechCentral reported the R1.20/kWh benchmark for customers in Eskom’s highest-voltage category in the southern region. Other transmission zones and voltage categories would be escalated in line with Megaflex, while customers supplied below 500V are excluded from the proposal as reported. The benchmark is therefore not a universal rate available to every miner or electricity customer. TechCentral’s report describes the proposal’s scope.
The proposed pilot would use time-of-use and location-based price signals to encourage flexible customers to use electricity when surplus power is available and reduce consumption when the system is constrained or demand peaks. NERSA’s description, reproduced by TimesLive, frames it as a 24-month test aimed primarily at new, high-load and flexible customers, including cryptocurrency-mining operations.
TechCentral described a potential operating window of roughly 12 to 16 hours a day. That is a reported feature of the proposal, not a final operating entitlement or a guarantee that power would be available at those times. The precise schedule and any load-control or curtailment obligations remain unsettled in the reviewed reporting.
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Why the figure is not yet an all-in electricity price
A per-kilowatt-hour energy benchmark does not show the complete bill. TechCentral reported that the full schedule of demand, capacity and network charges had not been published in its coverage, so the total cost of participation cannot be calculated from R1.20/kWh alone. Connection and location also matter: any customer would need to establish its applicable voltage category, transmission zone, energy rate by time and season, and all fixed or usage-based charges.
Eskom’s existing Megaflex tariff is relevant context, but it is separate from the proposed mining pilot. Eskom lists Megaflex among tariffs for large industrial and mining customers. Its 2025/26 Tariffs and Charges Booklet describes unbundled charges, including separate legacy energy charges in c/kWh and generation capacity charges in R/kVA. It also records changes to time-of-use periods: the peak-to-off-peak ratio moved from 8:1 to 6:1, evening peak was extended from two hours to three, morning peak was shortened from three hours to two, and a two-hour Sunday evening standard period was introduced. Those are details of Eskom’s 2025/26 framework, not confirmed terms of the proposed pilot.
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What a bitcoin miner’s power use could look like
MyBroadband used the Bitmain Antminer S21 XP, rated at 270 terahashes per second (TH/s), as an example. Its analysis estimates about 58.67 kWh of energy use over 16 hours. That is a publication’s equipment-based estimate, not a measurement of a particular installation or a guarantee that the pilot would let a miner operate for exactly 16 hours. MyBroadband’s analysis sets out the assumptions behind its mining scenario.
Multiplying an energy-use estimate by an energy rate can give a rough energy-charge illustration, but it cannot determine a miner’s complete electricity bill or its net return. Fixed network or capacity charges, cooling, repairs and other operating costs affect the economics. MyBroadband also flags uncertainty around VAT and fixed charges in its scenario.
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Why R1.20/kWh does not prove mining will be profitable
Mining revenue is variable, while equipment and electricity costs are only part of the calculation. A profitability estimate depends on factors including Bitcoin’s price, mining hashprice, exchange rates, the miner’s purchase price and efficiency, cooling needs, repair costs, tax treatment, operating hours and any demand or network charges. A scenario using one assumed tariff and schedule is not a forecast of guaranteed returns.
TechCentral quoted Steven Boykey Sidley, a Bridge Capital partner and University of Johannesburg professor of practice, describing the concept as selling electricity at a discount when it is not otherwise wanted, while warning that “The devil lies in the details, though.” The unresolved bill components and operating terms are precisely why the headline benchmark alone is not enough to assess a mining site.
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Proposal timetable and what remains open
As reported by TechCentral on 2 October 2026, public comments were due by 4pm on 23 October, public hearings were planned for 3 November, and NERSA’s decision was due on 7 December. Those dates describe the reported consultation timetable; they do not establish that NERSA approved the tariff or that the timetable remained unchanged.
The reviewed reporting does not establish final eligibility criteria, the complete proposed charge schedule, exact curtailment or load-control obligations, or whether a final approval has since been granted. Those details should be confirmed in a current NERSA or Eskom notice before a prospective customer treats the proposal as an available tariff.
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Do miners have to switch off during peak hours?
The proposal is intended to discourage consumption during system constraints and peak demand, but the reviewed reporting does not specify the final mechanism or exact obligations for an enrolled miner. It is not established whether participants would be required to switch off, respond to dispatch instructions, or simply face different prices. The pilot’s final terms would need to answer that before a miner could plan a reliable operating schedule.
What other flexible electricity users could qualify?
NERSA’s description refers broadly to new, high-load and flexible customers, with cryptocurrency mining given as an example. It does not establish a definitive list of eligible industries or customers beyond that framing. Eligibility would depend on the final pilot rules, including voltage category, location, load profile and any required ability to shift or curtail consumption.
Eskom’s existing Standard Offer is a different program: it is described as a way for generators, traders or consumers with surplus energy to sell energy to Eskom. It should not be confused with this proposed tariff, under which miners would buy electricity as flexible loads.
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