City rejects Eskom’s proposed electricity hike
The City said, Eskom has room to review and revise its proposed revenue down by R55 billion, by reducing the increase for the 2023/24 financial year to at least 18.4%.
The MMC for Environment and Infrastructure Services Department (EISD) Michael Sun attended the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA)’s hearing on Eskom’s request to increase tariffs by 38,1% for the 2023/24 financial year.
In a statement, Sun said that the City understands that Eskom must be financially viable but this must not be done to the detriment of residents.
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“If Eskom’s proposed application of a tariff hike of 38.1% is approved, City Power would have little room but to pass on the cost to its customers. This would place further financial burdens on residents within the City of Johannesburg,” says Sun.
According to the statement the proposed tariff hike, which is far higher than the current inflation rate, would have a devastating impact on the residents of Johannesburg and on the ailing local economy, further eroding business confidence and disrupting the City’s fragile economic recovery.
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The Multi-Party Government believes that the power utility has room to revise its proposed revenue and reduce it by R55 billion thereby reducing the increase for the 2023/24 financial year to at least 18.4%.
“This unrealistic tariff hike proposed by Eskom would put a halt to business and economic recovery and would negatively impact job creation and the City’s revenue base,” Sun said.
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Sun stressed to the NERSA panel that the fight against Eskom’s load-shedding blackouts is not just about keeping the lights on at homes. It’s also about the many hours of productive work that businesses are losing. All of this adds up to huge financial losses from which the economic hub of Africa will take many years to recover.
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“Therefore, we request NERSA to limit the increase to Eskom tariffs as suggested, and Eskom should rather be encouraged to introspect and seek alternative mechanisms to improve its efficiencies and reduce costs.”
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