/ 28 July 2008

Jo’burg set for power price hike

Johannesburg residents and industries can expect an electricity price hike this week, city mayor Amos Masondo said on Monday.

The city will approve Eskom’s electricity tariff hike of 20,6% at its next council meeting, Masondo told journalists at the Braamfontein Civic Centre. The tariff will be implemented on August 1.

”This increase is a direct result of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s [Nersa] decision to allow Eskom to levy an additional increase of 13,3% on its customers on the already approved 14,2% increase,” he said.

Poor consumers, however, will not be given an additional increase in tariffs and their share will be covered by the city.

City Power managing director Silas Zimu stressed that the more electricity people use, the more they will pay for it.

Councillor Roslynn Greeff, member of the mayoral committee for infrastructure and service, said the tariffs are there ”to help people”.

”The tariffs seem punitive, but it’s simply to force people to use less electricity … and now even if Eskom asks us to load shed, we don’t have to.”

She explained that the city has enough ”mitigating projects” to ensure that it will not be ”load-shedded by Eskom”.

”We are the only city in the country that can say this,” Greeff said.

One of these projects is the city’s buying of electricity generated by solar panels from the German School after hours.

Zimu, meanwhile, said the tariff will be applicable to structures including private houses, dwelling units, flats, boarding houses, hostels, caravan parks and industries.

”This basically means that we must find ways of saving and bringing hope to Johannesburg,” Zimu said. — Sapa