Energy expert, Professor Mark Swilling, says without financial intervention from government, Eskom has no choice but to propose electricity tariff hikes.
Swilling says Eskom cannot be financially viable if government fails to assist.
“It’s like a perfect storm increasing load shedding and rising costs. From Eskom’s point of view, as a business, government has not yet come to the party to take over the debt or a portion of the R400 billion outstanding debt which Eskom cannot service. There is declining maintenance, so the energy available is dropping. If you take all of that into account, Eskom is saying if you want us to be viable as a business, this is the revenue we need. They are also selling less energy, so they have to increase the price. From Eskom’s point of view, it is justifiable. They need to be financially viable if government does not come to the party.”
Full interview below:
Nersa on Eskom’s request for a 32% tariff increase:
