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The concessionaire's debt levels continue to rise and are now at R $ 419 billion.
FILE: Eskom offices at Megawatt Park in Sunninghill. Image: EWN.
CAPE CITY – Civil society organizations have voiced strong opposition to a request by Eskom for a double-digit tariff increase, saying that consumers, who are extremely overburdened, can no longer be expected to bail out the utility again and again.
On Monday, Eskom CEO Phakamani Hadebe told South Africa's national energy regulator (Nersa) that even if it received a 15% annual increase for three years, it still would not be enough to get him out of the trap of debt.
Debt levels continue to rise and now stand at R $ 419 billion.
But the Organization that Undoes Fiscal Abuse (Outa) and the Environment Institute of the Southern African Faith Communities (SAFCEI) say that it is no use repeating yes to Eskom's price increase demands, only for the company to repeat the same mistakes .
Hadebe says he is playing open letters with the public that the utility is in serious financial trouble.
"Eskom is compelled to apologize to South Africans for bringing the challenges they are facing."
Outa's Ronald Chauke says the company's business model is simply not working, while SAFCEI's Liz McDaid says people are reducing their electricity consumption because they simply can not afford it.
"[With] With these continuous price increases, we think Eskom has already failed. What we seem to have is a black hole that is taking money and dragging the country down. "
Energy analyst Ted Blom said Eskom's price increase request should be filed until the board submits its recovery plan and the president's advisory team has compiled its report.
(Edited by Thapelo Lekabe)
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