Cape Town - Energy regulator Nersa has invited the City to respond to complaints lodged by consumer groups, political parties and trade unions about an excessive electricity tariff increase.
The City has acknowledged receipt of Nersa’s correspondence, and has committed to provide a holistic response on the matter.
The City is one of only six municipalities that has refused to comply with the 15.1% increase threshold. Earlier this month, Nersa ruled against eThekwini Municipality’s proposed increase of 18.49%, and only granted a 15.1% increase.
Last week, after receiving numerous complaints calling for the increase to be rejected, Nersa said it was investigating if the City’s 17.6% increase would be reviewed and had put its dispute resolution team on the case.
Responding to consumer group Stop City of Cape Town’s (StopCoCT) complaint on the issue, Nersa said: “We have started engaging the City of Cape Town and they have acknowledged receipt and have advised that they will respond. We are still waiting for their response.”
StopCoCT founder and spokesperson Sandra Dickson said many group members had sent individual complaints to the City and Nersa.
At the same time, lobby group Electricity Prices Must Fall, whose petition launched last week and garnered more than 1 500 signatures, has received permission from the City for a picket at Cape Town Civic Centre on August 9.
In the same vein, Cosatu provincial secretary Malvern de Bruyn said Cosatu would discuss the issue at its Provincial Executive Committee Meeting, which is scheduled for Thursday this week, and threatened “possible mass action against the City”.
The GOOD Party, which led political parties represented on the council in lodging complaints, said the City’s increment was higher than the 15.1% that Nersa had deemed appropriate for all municipalities.
GOOD Party councillor responsible for finance, Anton Louw, said: “The City must take residents into its confidence on what it actually spends on bulk electricity, so that residents can fairly judge if they’re getting bang for their buck.”
Louw said the City paid about 70% of its electricity income to Eskom. The rest of the money was used elsewhere.
“The City is the most cash-flush in the country, with savings of approximately R10 billion.”
Meanwhile an Independent Power Producer (IPP), G7 Renewable Energies, is heading to court to interdict the government’s interim grid capacity allocation rules.
G7 Renewable Energies said the rules that came into force on June 27 would impose greater costs on developers of new generation plants and their customers
During Sunday’s briefing on the implementation of the government’s Energy Action Plan, the Presidency’s project management head, Rudi Dicks, said he feared that the court challenge, if successful, would disrupt the government’s plans for the addition of new renewables capacity.
He said instead that the government would try to reach an out of court solution with the G7 Renewable Energies.
mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za