Eskom has taken a break from keeping the lights on (more or less) to apply to the country’s energy regulator for another tariff hike. This is nothing new, the utility does this every year. It’s the amount of the increase that’s the problem. Eskom is looking for an additional 32% for 2023.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) has yet to say if it’ll grant the state power utility an increase. Odds are good that the country’s power generator will see an increase. If the last few years are any indication, it probably won’t be this increase.
Eskom on now, really?
The last increase applied for was 20.5% for 2022. NERSA saw its way forward to giving Eskom 9.61% instead. At less than half what the utility was after, nobody was particularly happy. But at least load shedding eased off immediately, right?
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There are still wrinkles to iron out. NERSA is attempting to change how Eskom can structure its tariff applications, a process the utility has been stalling. Eskom is also looking to restructure its tariff system in a bid to “…customers are more aligned to the actual costs they impose on the system,” said CEO Andre de Ruyter. Until both of these are sorted out, everyone’s stuck with the existing system, where nobody’s very pleased with how things are working.
Source: BusinessTech