Energy and Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa on Thursday made a commitment that the poor and South African population will be cushioned as the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) considers a 36% electricity tariff hike for Eskom.
Speaking during an urgent debate on Nersa’s decision to grant Eskom’s application to retrospectively recover R8billion for the 2021-22 financial year, Ramokgopa said he was confident that they would arrive at a dispensation to cushion the poor and the rest of the population.
“These increases are untenable, unaffordable and the country can't afford this situation. We will do everything possible to address this. I am confident and this is the assurance I give to South Africans,” he said.
The rising cost of energy, the impact of inflation and the cost of living were challenges that South Africans were grappling with, Ramokgopa said earlier.
“Fixing our energy infrastructure and ensuring reliable power will require significant financial resources.
“One of the most critical challenges we face is balancing the need to stabilise our energy sector with the responsibility to protect citizens from economic hardships, particularly the poor and the marginalised communities,” he said.
Ramokgopa highlighted the need for solutions that would balance the pressures of the cost of living for citizens and unavoidable investment required to end the energy crisis and that would be geared towards energy security and socio-economic growth.
“Our challenge, therefore, is to create an energy system that is financially and environmentally sustainable, accessible and affordable without deepening economic equality.”
Ramokgopa said Nersa was not obliged to ensure that Eskom recovered the R8bn in any particular window.
“One of the proposals that we are making is to ensure that we ease the pressure that is placed on every South African, in particular the disproportionate impact on the poor, to ensure that this R8bn is outside the current window of application, and also the law does not suggest that it should be recovered at one go.
“It can be recovered over a period of time. That is the concrete proposal we will be making, going forward,” Ramokgopa added.
DA MP Kevin Mileham said the electricity pricing policy was decades out of date.
“As the DA, we today call for an urgent review of how our electricity sector is structured, a clear picture of what the role of the National Transmission Company is in terms of procuring electricity, and where Eskom fits into that picture,” Mileham said.
The MK Party’s Brian Molefe argued that the price of coal should be regulated, not the price of electricity.
Cape Times