Eskom has opened public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at Gateway Theatre of Shopping and The Pavilion shopping centre in Durban, and is offering motorists a 20% discount at its charging facilities for the first six months.
The sites were launched on 13 October during National Transport Month as part of Eskom Distribution’s e-Mobility programme, which covers electrifying the utility’s own vehicle fleet, installing charging infrastructure and building a public charging network across the country.
Zuhdi Hamza, Eskom Distribution’s acting general manager for operations enablement, said the utility was actively participating in the energy transition rather than only talking about it, and that the sites would support adoption of electric mobility in South Africa.
Eskom’s e-Mobility Programme in Numbers
| Measure | Figure |
| Electric vehicles in Eskom Distribution fleet | 92 |
| Charging stations deployed | 104 |
| Eskom and partner sites | 68 |
| Publicly accessible stations | 19 at 14 sites |
| KwaZulu-Natal sites commissioned | 15 (15 charging stations) |
| Further public sites identified | 84 |
| Introductory discount | 20% for six months |
Eskom Distribution has deployed 92 electric vehicles and 104 charging stations across 68 Eskom and partner sites. Of those, 19 stations at 14 sites are open to the public. In KwaZulu-Natal, 15 sites and 15 charging stations have been commissioned. The utility has identified a further 84 potential public charging sites across its five regional clusters and is in talks with property owners.
Eskom said its aim was to complement the existing charging market, improve affordability and access, and address concerns about the availability of chargers among current and prospective EV owners. The introductory discount is intended to make charging cheaper and stimulate a market that remains small.
The move places the state-owned utility alongside private charge point operators such as GridCars, Rubicon and Zero Carbon Charge, which have built most of South Africa’s public network. According to GridCars, the country now has more than 544 charging sites along national roads, with about 650 chargers and over 1,200 connectors. Zero Carbon Charge is building off-grid, solar-powered stations along major routes, including the N3 between Johannesburg and Durban.
Electric vehicle sales, while still a small share of the market, are rising. Naamsa data shows 18,945 new energy vehicles, including hybrids, were sold in the first eight months of 2026, more than in the whole of 2025. Battery electric vehicles accounted for 13.8% of those sales, and plug-in hybrids for 36.5%.
For Eskom, EV charging offers a potential new source of electricity sales as it seeks to diversify revenue. The launch comes as electricity affordability remains a political issue, with government reviewing electricity pricing policy and Eskom preparing new tariff applications.
Eskom has not disclosed the per-kilowatt-hour price at its chargers before or after the discount.