Ramaphosa calls for caution in how electricity hike is applied, saying SA is reeling from high costs

Eskom has to be cautious and considerate in applying the electricity tariff increase as South Africans are already reeling under severe financial pressure.

This is the view President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed as he meets different stakeholders about the load-shedding crisis.

He has expressed concerns about the 18.65%  tariff increase National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) granted to Eskom from April 1.

Ramaphosa is said to be “deeply concerned” about the increase and he feels the pain of consumers who now have to pay more for electricity they do not have because of load-shedding.

Eskom was granted the tariff hike last week as the power utility plunged the country into stage six load-shedding for a week.

This bout of load-shedding has seen consumers being without electricity for at least 10 of the 24 hours a day albeit spread throughout the day.

“While the president fully appreciates that Eskom needs additional funding, he is equally sympathetic to anger and frustration that is being felt by consumers and households with regards to paying more for power that is intermittent,” said presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya.

“Therefore it is vital that Eskom and municipalities consider a balance that needs to be maintained in the application of this tariff increase. Households are already reeling under the high cost of living. Electricity costs need to match the availability of megawatts and the electricity that people are receiving.”

Ramaphosa has characterised the current bout of load-shedding as a “crisis” to an extent that he decided to skip the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos.

He was supposed to be part of the South African entourage that landed in Davos on Sunday to sell the country as an investment destination. 

“The president acknowledges that we are in a crisis, hence his demand to the National Energy Crisis Committee team to step up to the magnitude of the crisis. The national energy plan was informed by the recognition that we are in a crisis, therefore the execution of the plan must be informed by the same level of recognition, commitment and vigour to pull the country out of this crisis,” Magwenya said.

Ramaphosa told the Neccom meeting on Friday that he was unhappy with the levels of collaboration among the departments and ministers in the structure.

“Teams are working together across all relevant areas of government and Eskom, and there is progress being made, however the levels of collaboration are not enough for the president. He is demanding more collaboration, action, urgency and speed in realising the National Energy Plan and mitigating the current devastating load-shedding.”

Magwenya said Ramaphosa has also told those that he is meeting that Eskom was “too big to fail” and all steps must be taken to ensure it gets fixed with the full support of government. He told them that more has to be done to ensure “more megawatts [are] added into the grid quicker”.

“Security efforts have been stepped up to deal with acts of sabotage and criminality however more needs to be done with a lot more intensity. And work is ongoing in this regard with respect to addressing security and corruption at Eskom,” Magwenya said.

“Planned maintenance schedules must be conducted on time and within the required standards to get additional megawatts back onto the grid. We need faster turnaround times in resolving unplanned breakages.”

“There is a process under way to expedite procurement where certain machinery and equipment can be sourced directly from the OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) which will result in accelerated procurement processes that will lead to faster turnaround times.”

Ramaphosa, according to Magwenya, said: “Indefinite higher stages of load-shedding are unacceptable and are devastating to the economy, especially small businesses”.