Right2Know fears 17% Eskom tariff hike
This article below was published by The Citizen:
national 4.2.2016 09:00 am
Citizen Reporter
Supporters of Earthlife Africa march to the offices of BHP Billiton and Eskom, 16 September 2011, in Johannesburg, as they protest against the companies’ effect on the environment. The march was organised ahead of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP17) meeting, due to take place in Durban in November. Picture: Michel Bega
“Eskom’s application comes on top of Nersa’s previous approval of an 8% yearly increase in tariffs for the period 2013-2018”.
The Right2Know (R2K) Gauteng has strongly opposed Eskom’s Regulatory Clearing Account (RCA) application to the National Energy Regulator (Nersa) in which it is asking for a RCA balance of R22.8 billion, and will be protesting outside the Nersa hearings today and tomorrow.
According to R2K, if the RCA application is approved, South Africa could see electricity tariffs rise by up to 17% this year alone.
“Eskom’s application comes on top of Nersa’s previous approval of an 8% yearly increase in tariffs for the period 2013-2018. When combined with other add-on costs and levies, the tariff increase for 2015 was almost 13%. And now Eskom wants even further increases,” said R2K in a statement.
“Besides the lack of information around the specifics of this present application, Eskom has a sorry history of secretive and hugely costly deals for which they always expect the public to pay.”
R2K said without full transparency there can be no meaningful public participation in these hearings.
“Eskom is trying to make the public pay two, three and many more times over for its own mess and then it does so without informing that public as to why it got into the mess in the first place.
“The state, as the main shareholder in Eskom, must get its act together and clean up South Africa’s public power utility.”
R2K said what is needed is a fully transparent and participatory national dialogue around the energy crisis that we face in South Africa – with more environmentally sustainable, efficient and affordable energy options shaping that dialogue.
“The public has the right to know not only why Eskom has put people in such a crisis but also about present and future planned expenditure of public funds – no more so than in respect of the proposed nuclear procurement programme,” the statement read.
