Cape Town – Minister of Energy and Electricity Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has assured South Africans that his department, in collaboration with the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and municipalities, is dedicated to addressing the rising cost of electricity.
During a media briefing on Monday, Ramokgopa highlighted the urgent need for an effective electricity pricing plan and said that discussions with SALGA and municipalities are already underway.
“There’s been an exponential rise in the cost of electricity. Our electricity pricing plan needs to kick in and that’s the primary preoccupation of the work of the ministry now working with Eskom; working with municipalities and working with SALGA,” the minister said.
He acknowledged the public’s dissatisfaction with certain municipal initiatives, such as the controversial R200 surcharge, but emphasised the focus on finding a lasting solution.
“We really don’t want to engage publicly on the merits of whether the R200 [surcharge] is necessary or not. What we want to do is to find a more enduring and robust solution to this problem,” he said.
He added: “There’s an appreciation that it’s important that we pull together. This situation is untenable. Communities are getting more and more enraged [and] people just can’t afford the cost of electricity.
“As the ministry, together with the Deputy Minister, we have taken a view that we will not fold our arms although that domain… is the exclusive purview of local authorities. Municipalities rightfully say that it’s their domain but we are agreed with SALGA that we are going to resolve this problem domestically.”
Ramokgopa also stressed the crucial role of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) in protecting consumer interests and ensuring fair tariff increases.
“As an independent authority, they’ve got the duty to protect the consumer, they’ve got a duty to interrogate the proposed tariff increases from Eskom and also from municipalities. So what we’re going to do is not to pressure Nersa but to work with Nersa.
He said that the aim is to ensure affordable electricity access for all, protect industries from becoming uncompetitive due to high costs, and to address the challenges faced by municipalities.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
