Nersa takes a tumble with Eskom
Nersa allowed Eskom to raise electricity prices by 440% between 2008 and 2016-17
The Dentons report on corruption at Eskom has blown the National Energy Regulator of South Africa out of the water, say energy analysts. While Eskom was squandering hundreds of billions of rand on fruitless and wasteful expenditure, violations of procurement procedure, conflicts of interest and operational inefficiencies, Nersa, whose job it is to protect consumers, allowed it to raise electricity prices by 440% between 2008 and 2016-17. Law firm Dentons was commissioned by Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown in 2015 to investigate Eskom. Although she promised it was going to take a "deep dive", the investigation was abruptly halted after three months when it began naming names. By then, it had uncovered only 10% of Eskom's wrongdoing, according to analyst Ted Blom, who heads the energy portfolio for the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa). The report on this work was hidden from the public until recently exposed by the Financial Mail.Blom, who consulted to Eskom from 2006 to ...
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