Fuel price hikes worsen the impact of load shedding as SA consumers will have to spend more to run generators during prolonged power cuts. Image: iStock
As if stage six load shedding wasn’t depressing enough, the price of diesel went up this week, leaving you paying more to keep your generator running.
Petrol increased by R1.71 per litre and diesel by R2.84 per litre – at a time when most consumers are already struggling to keep up with rising living costs.
Experts warn that the recent increase could turn consumer pockets inside-out, as businesses and households scrape for extra cents to keep the lights on during prolonged power cuts.
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Depending on the size and capacity of your generator, you will need to dig deeper into your pockets to keep appliances powered up during load shedding.
A 25L fuel capacity generator will cost you R 638.5 to fill up, costing R42.75 more after the fuel price hike.
Meanwhile a 15L generator will now cost you R23.65 more to run, up from R357.45 to R381.10.
Filling up a 15L diesel generator previous costed R303.15 but has now increased by R51.60 to R354.75.
A 25L diesel generator now costs R71 more to run, with a R576.25 price tag – increasing from R505.25.
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Warning against the likelihood of energy price inflation, economist Dawie Roodt said the increase in fuel prices alongside stage 6 load shedding, was a double hit to SA consumers – as both factors affect the energy sector.
“This will have a widespread impact on all sorts of variables in the SA economy,” he told The Citizen.
“Commuter prices and taxi fare will [likely] go up…and this means people will have less money to spend on other things,” he said.
When it comes to the logistics industry, Roodt said transporting goods via road networks would be a costly exercise in the absence of an alternative.
“Unfortunately, most [goods] have to be transported by road since rail networks are no longer functional, that will have a knock-on effect on everything else,” he said.
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“Although [fuel hike] will put pressure on inflation, some other prices are either increasing at a slower rate or coming down. For example, food prices,” he said.
“Food prices are still increasing sharply, but at a slower rate,” he added.
Roodt said although he anticipated an overall inflationary increase in the upcoming months, he was convinced it wouldn’t hit the 6% mark.
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