Energy department
Fuel prices to be hiked on Wednesday
The Energy Department has announced that the petrol price will increase between 40 and 43 cents a litre.
From midnight on Tuesday, the price of petrol is going up one cent while a litre of diesel will cost 21 cents less.
The department is citing the rand's depreciation against the US dollar as a reason for the adjustment.
South Africa has issued a request for proposals to procure 2,000 megawatts of emergency power.
The Energy Department has released the adjusted fuel price increases for July, which will also see the cost of diesel and illuminating paraffin rise substantially.
The Integrated Resource Plan that was released last year (IRP2019) included nuclear as part of the energy mix the country would need, saying that it would be procured at a scale and pace the country could afford.
The AA predicted an 86 cent drop in the price of petrol and 68 cents for diesel. The AA also predicted a 58 cent drop in the price of illuminating paraffin.
According to a report, the deal had raised eyebrows in government circles and could land Energy Minister Jeff Radebe in trouble.
This is the second consecutive fuel price increase since the start of the year.
Patrice Motsepe held a briefing on Monday, to deny allegations that the decision to unbundle Eskom, which was announced by his brother-in-law, President Rampahosa, will benefit his company.
Patrice Motsepe has rejected claims that he’ll benefit from his brother-in-law President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent decision to unbundle Eskom.
From Wednesday, motorists will have to fork out 7 cents more for a litre of petrol.
While some say they’re happy to hear the news, others say it’s too little too late.
This comes after the country saw a record price hike a couple of months ago which saw petrol hitting up to R17.08, while diesel went up to as much as R15.69.
The Energy Department has announced that prices will remain unchanged for November while there will be a steep increase for diesel which goes up by between 48 and 51 cents.
Energy Minister Jeff Radebe says the government is deeply concerned about the impact skyrocketing fuel prices are having, particularly, on the poor.
Both grades of petrol will increase by 99 cents and R1 per litre respectively while diesel will diesel will set you back R1,24 cents.
The Energy Department told Parliament on Tuesday that it would be unwise to give consumers a break from paying fuel levies as a means of reducing the financial impact of the fuel price.
Energy Minister Jeff Radebe and his top officials were in Parliament to explain what the government is doing to mitigate the effects of the fuel price.