{"id":92556,"date":"2015-06-25T09:33:12","date_gmt":"2015-06-25T07:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/?p=92556"},"modified":"2015-06-25T09:38:00","modified_gmt":"2015-06-25T07:38:00","slug":"nersa-to-deliberate-on-proposed-electricity-tariff-hike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/news-headlines\/2015\/06\/25\/nersa-to-deliberate-on-proposed-electricity-tariff-hike\/","title":{"rendered":"Nersa to deliberate on proposed electricity tariff hike"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brian Molefe, acting CEO of Eskom, has\u00a0vowed to do whatever it takes not to harm South Africa’s economy, whether or not they receive a tariff increase.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Molefe was gave his closing remarks at the end of a two days of public hearing into Eskom’s 25.3 per cent electricity price hike<\/a>.<\/p>

<\/div>\n

Over 12 per cent has already been approved.<\/p>\n

It has been reported that Molefe has stated that Eskom won’t be pursuing a 2.5 per cent environmental levy, “So what we’re looking for is about a 9.5 per cent increase for the 2015\/16 financial year to keep the lights on,” he said.<\/p>

<\/div>\n

“Load shedding costs six times more than what the\u00a0company is\u00a0asking for to run the open cycle gas turbines which require diesel.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people have spoken about the 25 per cent increase and how it is not affordable, but very few people have spoken about the cost of load shedding.\u201d<\/p>\n

This after two days of presentations from businesses and organisations that strongly oppose the tariff hike, stating South Africans simply cannot afford it.<\/p>\n

Molefe has encouraged the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) to\u00a0consider the affordability especially for the poor when making its decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever happens, we are going to try and manage Eskom in a way that does not harm the South African economy,\u201d he said in closing.<\/p>\n

Nersa is expected to make its decision by Monday, June 29.<\/p>\n

\n