Eskom's 60% tariff issue central to energy summit

Mr Erwin says the increase was necessary to recover rising costs of energy

Public Enterprises Minister, Alec Erwin, says Eskom's proposed 60% tariff increase will occupy centre stage at next week's National Energy Summit.

He told a media briefing in Parliament that the increase was necessary to recover the rising cost of primary energy such as coal. Erwin has also warned of the possibility of emergency load shedding in future.

Erwin says commitments from all stakeholders to conserve energy have been promising and he's confident of a ten percent reduction in demand if South Africans continue to save electricity. Load shedding in extreme cases may continue.

Change from analogue to digital
Meanwhile, during an Economics cluster briefing in Parliament, concern was expressed that retailers may dump cheap analogue TV sets on unsuspecting customers.

South Africa is due to switch from analogue to digital broadcasting from 2011.

Consumers are warned that existing analogue sets will then become obsolete.

The move towards digital broadcasting is expected to begin in November.