Electricity supplier, Eskom has hit back at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s request to the power utility to freeze its tariff hike.
Eskom released a statement to the media and in its response, the state-owned company says only a court of law can be able to halt the price hike as granted by the energy regulator.
It said those people who are “aggrieved” by the upcoming 18.65% electricity tariff hike will have to lodge a court application to challenge the energy regulator’s decision.
This statement follows an announcement by Ramaphosa who told delegates at the ANC Free State provincial conference that he asked the power utility to halt the tariff hike amid ongoing load shedding – the tariff is set to kick in April.
“If Eskom does not recover from the consumer, then the burden on the taxpayer increases. Thus efficient costs will need to be recovered – they do not just disappear,” the power utility said.
“Neither Eskom nor any other authority can determine electricity prices, Nersa cannot change its own decision unless reviewed in a court of law. Once a decision has been made, Nersa lacks any power to re-examine its decision. Charging any price other than that determined by Nersa is not legally possible.”
In a response to News24, the beleaguered power generator said the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) is the only authority in the country that can set the price that consumers can be charged for electricity.
Nersa also follows an “exhaustive” public participation process to get input from different stakeholders and considers the costs that Eskom will incur before reaching the final outcome.
It added that the only route open to challenge Nersa’s decision is to launch an application with a high court to review and set aside the regulator’s determination.
According to a University of Johannesburg Professor Hartmut Winkler, similarly highlighted Nersa’s role in setting the electricity price.
“He argued that if Eskom were not to implement the tariff hike, there would need to be a trade-off such that government provides some support to make up for the shortfall the utility faces,” reports the publication.
“Winkler warned that if Eskom adheres to the president’s request, it will set a precedent for the price increase to be halted again in the future.”
