National Treasury has published the adopted operating and capital budgets of South Africa’s municipalities for the 2025/26 Medium Term Revenue and Expenditure Framework, including spending plans that directly affect electricity distribution and other trading services.
For 2025/26, municipalities have budgeted R675,8 billion in operating revenue and R698 billion in operating expenditure. Treasury notes that bulk purchases – a category that includes electricity and water – account for 35% of operating expenditure while employee-related costs account for 27%.
Municipalities have tabled R78,9 billion in capital expenditure for the year. Treasury reports that 52,1% of this capital budget is allocated to trading services, which include electricity, water, sanitation and waste services. Within the overall capital envelope, R45,7 billion is assigned to new infrastructure, R14,9 billion to renewals and R18.4 billion to upgrades and refurbishment. Renewals constitute 18,8% of total municipal capital spending.
