Eskom moves ahead with 16% tariff hike: Seeks to recover R10 billion
- The High Court has ruled that Eskom may recover R10 billion from consumers
- This has enabled the power utility to hike tariffs by 16%
- This comes shortly after the National Energy Regulator of South Africa agreed to the increase
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The High Court has ruled that Eskom may recover R10 billion from consumers, allowing the power utility to increase electricity tariffs by 16%.
This comes after Eskom and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa reached an agreement on the matter.
NERSA had appealed a ruling in July 2020 that enables Eskom to boost revenue by R69 billion over the course of the next three years.
Source: Getty Images
The order allows the state-owned entity to recover costs incurred for the production of power, Eskom explained in a statement. It allows for tariffs to be hiked from the beginning of April.
BusinessTech reports that Elize Kruger, an independent economist, had commented that rising prices would place added pressure on middle-income groups. The move will also place industrial and retail businesses under more strain, according to Kruger.
Eskom is battling to service R464 billion in debt and has frequently commented that tariffs do not reflect its costs. The utility and NERSA have frequently headed to court over their numerous disputes over the price of electricity.
Earlier, Briefly.co.za reported that Eskom has reduced its workforce by around 2 000 over the past year in an effort to slim down its bloated salary bill.
Despite the reduction, Eskom remains overstaffed, according to its CEO Andre de Ruyter, who says 6 000 fewer employees would be ideal.
De Ruyter revealed this in a panel hosted by the Free Market Foundation, during which he explained that the utility has 44 000 employees when instead it should have 38 000.
The CEO remained silent on whether or not Eskom intended on reducing its workforce to this point, instead explaining that the reduction had taken place by retirement and voluntary severance packages.
He had used the platform to clarify that a number of top officials at the power utility had received pay increments and even hefty bonuses at a time when the state-owned utility's finances had been in a questionable state.
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Source: Briefly News
