South Africa - Pretoria - 16 April 2024 - -Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink speaking at the C40 Africa Water Safe Cities Forum at Tshwane House. Picture:Jacques Naude / Independent Newspapers
Tshwane Mayor Cilliers Brink has vowed to fight against the massive electricity hike by 36% increase proposed by Eskom to Nersa for the 2025 financial year.
The proposal was along with an additional 4% from its regulatory clearing account.
This week Brink wrote to Nersa to formally object to Eskom’s proposed 40% increase in electricity tariffs.
Nersa is yet to make a determination on whether to grant the power utility its wish for increases.
Tshwane’s objection comes as the nationwide online petition spearheaded by the DA against Eskom’s proposed tariff increase continued to gain momentum yesterday with more than 45 000 signatures from public members rejecting it by noon.
The DA expressed concern that Eskom wants to hike your electricity bill by 40% in the middle of a cost of living crisis.
“This hike will force millions to make an impossible choice between food and electricity. We refuse to accept a future where electricity is unaffordable for the average household,” the party said in its ongoing petition.
Brink shared the same sentiments, saying that households are already buckling under tough economic pressure.
“We have an economy that is not growing in part because there hasn’t been electricity availability,”he said.
He added that households sometimes have to choose between buying food and other household necessities and paying the municipal utility bills.
“There is an affordability crisis in this country (and) as the city we have done our best to deal with illegal connections to go after folks who can pay but who don’t pay,”he said.
He said the implication of granting Eskom its wish would put consumers, households, including workers under huge financial strain.
“I will stand with other mayors and also ask to make a presentation at Nersa to make sure we stop this massive increase in electricity prices,”Brink said.
DA MP Kevin Mileham this week said it was not only the average South African who is going to be affected by proposed increases.
“Every business, our entire economy is (going to be) affected by electricity pricing and it is going to cause food across the entire spectrum to rise in price,”he said.
Pretoria News
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