DA says it will up ante in fight against so-called Eskom electricity extortion

JOHANNESBURG - The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it will up the ante in its fight against what it has labelled electricity extortion as Eskom files its revenue application for next year.

After launching a petition for 85,000 signatures to stop Eskom’s high electricity price hikes, the party also plans to take to the streets to oppose the move.

ALSO READ: DA calls for NERSA to clarify its electricity tariff determination methodology

Earlier in 2024, it emerged that Eskom had applied for a tariff increase of 36% for its direct customers and a 44% increase for municipal customers for the 2025-2026 financial year.

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) has confirmed Eskom’s latest revenue application but refused to give details of the proposal pending compliance checks.

The DA’s caucus of local government mayors has written to NERSA, calling for the energy regulator not to grant Eskom’s application.

The party said tariff increases over the past few years have forced many to choose between putting food on the table or keeping the lights on.

It said the unprecedented increases also risk electricity revenue approaching a revenue ceiling, where residents will start reducing consumption to a point that Eskom will make less revenue than before the hikes.

The DA has also called for a parliamentary debate on the matter, threatening legal action if the increases are granted.

Meanwhile, lobby group AfriForum has confirmed that a handful of municipalities have submitted their cost-of-supply studies for the tariff increases after initially missing the deadline earlier this year.

In a judgement handed down last month, the High Court in Pretoria ruled that more than 100 municipalities that failed to submit these documents were unlawfully charging customers price hikes for the 2023/2024 financial year.

AfriForum and NERSA are currently locked in a legal battle over the matter, with NERSA recently announcing it would appeal the judgement at the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).

According to a list handed to the court by the South African Local Government Association, the 70 compliant municipalities include Johannesburg, City of Tshwane and Cape Town.

AfriForum’s manager of local government affairs, Morne Mostert, has welcomed the improved compliance.

“Municipalities should put these documents through public participation processes as well, so the public is able to scrutinise the information given, but this is one of the necessary documents that need to be handed in if you want an electricity tariff increase.”