Industry and labour warn Nersa of death spiral and R20bn loss at Eskom
Industry and labour bodies want inflation-linked increases to electricity tariffs
Eskom, which is facing a net loss of R20bn in the financial year to March and is burdened by a R419bn debt, says it needs multi-year increases well in excess of inflation to return to sustainability. Industry and labour bodies on Monday told the regulator that granting that wish would harm the economy and accelerate the company's own “death spiral” as paying customers desert the grid. Business Unity SA (Busa), the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), AgriSA, the South African Local Government Association, Solidarity and Sibanye-Stillwater were among those that presented at the hearings held by the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) in Midrand on Monday. Outa also opposed the last-minute changes by Eskom on Friday to its tariff application, from 15% annually for the next three years to 17.1%, 15.4% and 15.5%, respectively. The Reserve Bank’s inflation target is 3%-6% and policymakers have consistently highlighted administered prices among the most important risks for interest ...
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