DA urges South Africans to make submissions en masse on Eskom tariff hikes
20 January 2020
The Democratic Alliance (DA) notes that today is the deadline for South Africans to make submissions on Eskom’s proposed tariff hikes for the period of 2019-2022. The DA would like to urge that South Africans exercise their right to make their voices heard by submitting their objections to the tariff hike to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) as a matter of urgency.
Eskom is currently in the process of challenging the electricity tariff increases previously approved by the NERSA for the period of 2019 to 2022. Eskom wants consumers to initially pay 10-12% more for electricity, and thereafter the door will be open to a further four applications by Eskom, which will result in tariff increases by a whopping 50% over the next few years.
NERSA requested public comment and will then assess Eskom’s application following due regulatory processes. Mass public participation is essential to influence NERSA’s decision, with public comment opportunities closing on the 20th of January 2020.
In its court application, Eskom says the increase provided by NERSA is inadequate and presents a “material risk of potential catastrophic consequences”, not only for the power utility but for the country. But the real issue here is that Eskom has run out of money.