Happy Easter: ESKOM raises electricity prices tomorrow

[Nat Quinn]

Don’t forget to top-up your prepaid electricity meter before Eskom raises electricity prices tomorrow (Monday 1 April 2024). That’s right, cash-strapped South Africans are up in arms, but that won’t change the increase that’s set to take place tomorrow.

Sadly, it is the country’s elderly and indigent that will suffer the most when Eskom raises electricity prices. As The South African has already reported, old-age pensioners cannot afford to pay their bills with their current South African Social Security Agency grants. To pay ever-increasing rates and utilities bills, it is their quality of life that suffers. In most cases pensioners must go without chronic medication just to put food on the table.

ESKOM RAISES ELECTRICITY PRICES

Eskom tariff adjustments effective from Monday 1 April 2024. Image: Pixabay

Nevertheless, not even government grants will ease the load when Eskom raises electricity prices tomorrow. The increase is part of Eskom’s Multi-Year Price Determination (MYPD) increase that was agreed upon back in 2022. There was a tariff hike in 2023, now in 2024 and another will follow in 2025.

Approval came from the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), in spite of the Democratic Alliance (DA) appealing to the High Court. The DA argued that Eskom failed to meet several key conditions set out by NERSA (Mzansi endured 332 days of load-shedding in 2023) and therefore has no right to up electricity tariffs.

HIGH COURT RULING

National regulator was unable to overturn Eskom tariff hikes in 2024 despite it failing in many stipulations. Picture: File.

Nevertheless, NERSA’s approved 12.74% electricity price hike goes ahead tomorrow. Last year there was a similar uproar for the 18.65% increase. Last year, Eskom’s performance versus NERSA stipulations looks like this:

• Criteria                        NERSA             ESKOM

• Breakdowns                20%                 33%

• Energy availability       65%                 55%

• OCGT Load factor       6%                   20%

ELECTRICITY COST BEYOND APRIL 2024

Depending on where you live and what your historical usage is, your cost per unit can vary greatly. We recommend clicking HERE to get the best possible estimation of your new April 2024 Eskom electricity price.

 

source:Happy Easter: ESKOM raises electricity prices tomorrow (thesouthafrican.com)

 

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