Hill-Lewis calls for immediate halt to proposed 10.5% electricity tariff hikes

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has called on the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) to immediately cease plans to increase electricity tariffs by a further 5%.

Hill-Lewis on Friday called on NERSA not to increase Eskom’s tariffs from the original 5% to 10.5% annually for the next two years. The Mayor urged NERSA to redo Eskom's tariff application, stating it is "riddled with errors."

The Mayor highlighted that Eskom's recent financial performance does not justify the scale of the proposed increases.

"The fact is Eskom is now in a better financial position and is generating profits again. There is strong evidence that the public is being unfairly asked to absorb Eskom hikes of up to 10.5% annually for the next two years."

Hill-Lewis noted that the electricity tariff increase could end up being more than double the initially approved 5% to 6%.

"Cape Town's call is clear. NERSA must immediately stop plans for this additional hike and redo Eskom's price application."

While NERSA would not respond directly to the Mayor's comments, the regulator indicated that a public consultation process is currently underway. This process aims to redetermine Eskom’s multi-year tariff application, following a High Court order issued in December last year.

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