Electricity price alert over Eskom overruns
Massive cost overruns on Eskom’s new power stations mean huge and unaffordable increases in future electricity tariffs, says Cape Chamber of Commerce
THE cost overruns of Eskom’s new power stations could lead to “huge and unaffordable” increases in electricity tariffs, the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry has warned.The original cost estimate for the Ingula power station was R8.9bn but has since ballooned to R36bn, while the cost of the Medupi coal-fired power station was estimated at R69bn in April 2007 but in July was estimated by Eskom to be R135bn.The cost of the Kusile power plant has also increased from the original R80.6bn to R135bn.“We learn two things from these figures,” the chamber’s president, Janine Myburgh, said. “One is that electricity from the Medupi and Kusile (power stations) will cost well over R1 a unit and that costs will continue to rise each year along with the costs of coal, transport and wages.“The second thing we learn is that massive cost overruns are normal for big projects and this will also apply to any nuclear build programme,” Myburgh said.“To make matters even worse, the cost estimates do no...
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