South African households and businesses may have to contend with higher electricity prices if the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) agrees to Eskom’s application for a 32% tariff hike.
The Gauteng High Court granted NERSA an extension until 12 January 2023 to make its decision. Earlier this year, in July, the court ordered the regulator to make its final decision on or before 24 December 2022.
The national energy regulator has until mid-January to decide on the power utility’s application for a 32% hike in electricity tariffs for the 2023/34 financial year, followed by an increase of almost 10% in 2024/25.
The court extended the deadline to January 12 after members of Nersa’s electricity committee raised some of their concerns.
If Eskom’s fifth Multi-Year Price Determination (MYPD5) revenue application is fully approved, a 32% tariff hike will kick in from 1 April 2023 followed by a 9.74% increase in 2024/25.
Nersa can also decide to grant only part of that amount, as they did in April this year, when electricity tariffs increased by almost 10% instead of the 20% requested by Eskom.
As widely reported, Eskom hardly gets the increase it asks for from the regulator. Earlier this year, tariffs increased by 9.61% in April but the power utility initially asked Nersa for a 20.5% increase.
The implications of another sharp rise in power price could be dire for South Africans already contending with a steep rise in living costs.
Source: OFM, The South African, Eyewitness News, image from Twitter: @StarFMNews919