Eskom bids 'cheap electricity' adieu
Thématique :
sud afrique
Cheap electricity for South Africans is a thing of the past.
Eskom has guaranteed that there will be annual increases of between 20 percent and 25 percent for the next three years.
Despite carrying out maintenance work prior to the onset of winter, Eskom also warned on Thursday that there was a high possibility of load-shedding resuming this winter.
Addressing a media conference at the power utility's head office at Megawatt Park on Thursday chief executive Jacob Maroga welcomed the National Energy Regulator of South Africa's decision to allow a further 13,6 percent increase this year - much less than the 53 percent tariff hike Eskom had sought.
Maroga hailed Nersa's decision as "a watershed, bold, courageous and responsible decision," which set a precedent for the years to come.
Maroga also welcomed Nersa's stand to protect the poor from the increases by deciding that it would not pass the latest increase on to them.
Maroga had a mixed bag of messages for the public.
The first was that the power system was still on constrained reserve margin and the consequences were that the threat to the power supply remained.
"Because of this, any minor technical problem will impact on customers," Maroga warned.
The second consequence was that the cost of running the power system on reserve, increased costs by up to 30 percent.
The second message was that the supply problem would take a few years to resolve.
The third message, said Maroga, was that there were two solutions: the construction of more power stations, and encouraging consumers to save electricity - which in the short to medium terms, was the most effective.
Maroga said Eskom was also embarking on the most ambitious capital expenditure expansion programme in South Africa.
It would be spending R343-billion in the next five years, and R1,3-trillion by 2020 - effectively doubling its power-generating capacity.
This would bring increased economic activity for the country, as well as employment opportunities, he said.
The downside was that the capital expenditure programme needed funding, which would be sourced through increased tariffs. Eskom would also need to raise funds from the government and borrow from other national and international sources.
This article was originally published on page 3 of The Star on June 20, 2008
Eskom has guaranteed that there will be annual increases of between 20 percent and 25 percent for the next three years.
Despite carrying out maintenance work prior to the onset of winter, Eskom also warned on Thursday that there was a high possibility of load-shedding resuming this winter.
Addressing a media conference at the power utility's head office at Megawatt Park on Thursday chief executive Jacob Maroga welcomed the National Energy Regulator of South Africa's decision to allow a further 13,6 percent increase this year - much less than the 53 percent tariff hike Eskom had sought.
Maroga hailed Nersa's decision as "a watershed, bold, courageous and responsible decision," which set a precedent for the years to come.
Maroga also welcomed Nersa's stand to protect the poor from the increases by deciding that it would not pass the latest increase on to them.
Maroga had a mixed bag of messages for the public.
The first was that the power system was still on constrained reserve margin and the consequences were that the threat to the power supply remained.
"Because of this, any minor technical problem will impact on customers," Maroga warned.
The second consequence was that the cost of running the power system on reserve, increased costs by up to 30 percent.
The second message was that the supply problem would take a few years to resolve.
The third message, said Maroga, was that there were two solutions: the construction of more power stations, and encouraging consumers to save electricity - which in the short to medium terms, was the most effective.
Maroga said Eskom was also embarking on the most ambitious capital expenditure expansion programme in South Africa.
It would be spending R343-billion in the next five years, and R1,3-trillion by 2020 - effectively doubling its power-generating capacity.
This would bring increased economic activity for the country, as well as employment opportunities, he said.
The downside was that the capital expenditure programme needed funding, which would be sourced through increased tariffs. Eskom would also need to raise funds from the government and borrow from other national and international sources.
This article was originally published on page 3 of The Star on June 20, 2008
