Hump day already, let’s get into it.
Wednesday, 15 April 2026
More fuel price pain coming in May
The Central Energy Fund’s mid-month numbers are out and they’re not pretty. We’re looking at another increase at the pumps next month, which honestly feels like a kick in the teeth when most of us are already stretching every rand. I don’t know how people commuting from places like Soshanguve or Centurion are managing, the cost of just getting to work is becoming genuinely unsustainable.
Eskom planning a 9-hour outage in Gauteng tomorrow
So Eskom has scheduled a nine-hour maintenance outage for parts of Gauteng on Thursday. They’re calling it essential maintenance on the distribution infrastructure, which fine, I get it, things need to be fixed. But nine hours is a long time, and I’d strongly suggest checking whether your area is affected before you make any plans that depend on power tomorrow. Charge everything tonight, just in case.
JoJo declares force majeure
This one genuinely surprised me. JoJo tanks, the company that basically every South African household with a water backup plan has relied on for years, has declared force majeure and is warning customers about price increases. Force majeure means they’re citing circumstances beyond their control, which could be anything from supply chain issues to input costs going through the roof. Given how many people invested in JoJo tanks specifically because of our water reliability problems, this is a story worth watching closely.
Home Affairs wins the online verification fee fight
Remember that court case challenging Home Affairs’ absolutely wild 6,500% increase to their Online Verification Service fees? It’s been withdrawn. So that increase stands. Businesses that use the service to verify ID documents, think banks, employers, landlords, are going to feel this. And you can bet those costs eventually get passed on to ordinary people one way or another. Home Affairs wins, we pay. Classic.
Bonus: Cape Town, winter is coming
Not really breaking news but worth mentioning for our Cape Town members, apparently winter is arriving early this year with cold and wet conditions expected from this weekend. Meanwhile we’re still sitting in Pretoria wondering when this heat is actually going to break properly. Different country, I swear.
So here’s what I want to know from you guys today, with fuel going up again, load shedding still a threat, water security shaky enough that JoJo is under pressure, and Home Affairs doing whatever it wants, what’s the one cost of living pressure hitting your household hardest right now?
Drop it in the comments, genuinely curious where people are feeling it most.