- South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa, has asked the state owned energy utility, Eskom, not to implement the 18.65% electricity tariff hike in April.
- He made the announcement is his closing address at the ANC’s provincial conference in Mangaung yesterday.
Earlier this month, the country’s energy regulator, NERSA, approved approved a 18.65% electricity tariff hike for the country’s state owned energy utility, effective from 1st April for the 2023 financial year. A 12.74% tariff hike was approved for 2024 which brings a total price increase for the next two years at 33.7%. Eskom has unsustainable debt of around R400 billion and cannot meet the country’s electricity demand.
The president said that he told Eskom that it will be an injury to our people if we implement this 18% increase now when we are going through load shedding and asked them to suspend the tariff hike. “So Eskom is going to consider that,” he said.
Related news: South Africa’s renewable energy procurement programme in tatters
The State Owned Enterprises Minister, Pravin Gordhan, recently appointed a new board at Eskom. Citing no support from the new board and facing accusations of treason from the Energy Minister, Eskom CEO, Andre de Ruyter, resigned last month. The outgoing CEO has laid an attempted murder charge with the South African Police Service, after drinking a cup of coffee laced with cyanide at his Eskom office. Read more
In October last year the Finance Minister announced that government will be taking on between one-third and two-thirds of Eskom’s debt to try a turn the beleaguered utility around. Read more
Decades of gross mismanagement, poor planning, looting, corruption, sabotage and theft have brought the utility to its knees. The people of South Africa face stage 6 blackouts daily. Read more
Link to his full speech HERE
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
