Cape Town — The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) confirmed on Thursday that it approved Eskom’s Retail Tariff and Structural Adjustment (ERTSA) application and an average tariff increase of 18.65% for the utility’s standard tariff customers and an increase of 18.49% for municipalities.
The increase for Eskom’s standard tariff customers will be effective from 1 April 2023 and for municipalities
from 1 July 2023.
At its meeting held on March 10, 2023, NERSA further revealed it was decided that key industrial and urban customers will realise an 18,65% increase plus an additional 7.37c/kWh to cater for the subsidy, which increases from 5.69c/kWh resulting in a 29,53% increase. Homelight 20Amp customers will realise a lower increase of 10%.
The municipalities’ lower increase of 18.49% is – according to NERSA – because in the first three months (April to June) of Eskom’s financial year, they will not experience an increase, as their financial year commences on 1 July
every year.
NERSA approved Eskom’s request to increase tariff prices despite pleas by President Cyril Ramaphosa who had requested the utility to hold the 18.65% electricity tariff hike.
“I have personally said to Eskom: ‘Eskom, it will be an injury to our people if we implement this 18% now when we are going through load shedding. Put it in suspense for a while’. And so the Eskom board is going to discuss that,” Ramaphosa said.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) shadow minister of public enterprises, Ghaleb Cachalia MP urged South Africans to reject NERSA’s decision to green-light the tariff increase.
Cachalia said that NERSA’s decision to increase electricity tariffs by 18.65% is “official sanctioned daylight robbery against consumers”, considering that consumers spent “over 120 days in darkness in 2022, with indefinite stage 6 load shedding already in 2023”.
“It is time for all South Africans to stand up and say ‘Enough Is Enough!’,” he added.
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Compiled by Junaid Benjamin
