Electricity price goes up
The City of Johannesburg has announced a seven-percent electricity tariff increase which came into effect from 1 July.
The increase is in line with the approval by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa).
MMC for Environment and Infrastructure Services, Matshidiso Mfikoe, said the approval was closer to the City’s request and further neutralised tariff increases in other categories.
“Even though the City was not granted the tariff increase it had applied for, based on individual tariff categories and the structural realignment that the City proposed on certain tariff categories, the City intends complying fully with Nersa’s decision,” said Mfikoe.
She said the City accepted Nersa’s approval, and that it would continue to engage the regulatory body to ensure that future tariffs are rationalised and that they are more compliant with industry and regulatory benchmarks.
Mfikoe said, “While we continue to reinforce good governance and encourage residents to pay for services they receive. We are also sensitive to levels of unemployment, affordability, production costs, access to services, and economic competitiveness of the City. These are considerations which inform the City’s tariff setting criteria and link with the reality of the environment we operate within.”
MMC for Finance Geoffrey Makhubo also released a report compiled by management consultants, KMPG, on the state of the City’s sinking funds.
Makhubo said the report underlined the City’s commitment to transparency and the right of residents and investors to have access to information about Johannesburg’s finances.
He said the City had the right, in terms of the Protection of Access to Information Act (PAIA), not to release operational or management reports.”The decision taken to release this particular report should, therefore, not be regarded as a precedence, where all operational or management reports will in future be published, irrespective of their public interest status,” he said.
