Protesters and climate justice groups have staged a picket outside the Pretoria offices of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), voicing opposition to a proposed electricity tariff increase for Eskom.
The regulator is currently considering a new tariff hike after a court ordered it to reprocess Eskom’s multi-year price determination application. NERSA last year acknowledged that it had miscalculated the amount Eskom was allowed to recover, resulting in a revenue shortfall of about R76 billion for the power utility.
Consumers could ultimately shoulder the burden of the error, with electricity tariffs potentially rising by as much as 10 percent. Members of the public have until Wednesday to submit their comments to the regulator.
Earthlife Africa’s Ulrich Steenkamp described the proposed increases as excessive, warning that they would place further strain on already stretched households.
“Electricity is already an unachievable sustainable energy source here because it’s too expensive for us, especially working-class and poor people. The majority of our income is already diverted to electricity units,” Steenkamp said.
He added that Eskom’s earlier application for a 36 percent increase showed little consideration for affordability.
“The fact that it has already risen by 12.7 percent just shows that we now have to choose between groceries or electricity. This is why we are demonstrating and raising our concerns,” he said.
Protesters have called on both government and the regulator to stop passing the cost of poor energy decisions onto the public and to prioritise affordable, people-centred energy solutions.