Average power bill to double

Pretoria- The price of electricity has almost doubled for the man in the street, following the National Energy Regulator of SA's decision on Eskom's tariff increase for the next three years, an economist said on Wednesday.

"For the man in the street who uses 600 kilowatt hours per month, the price of electricity has almost doubled," Nedbank economist Carmen Altenkirch said.

"And the middle classes - who use more than 600 kilowatt hours per month - will be paying more than double for their electricity over the next three years," she said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Nersa said it had granted electricity parastatal Eskom a tariff increase of 24.8 percent for 2010, 25.8 percent for 2011, and 25.9 percent for 2012.

"And it must be noted that the increase will hit small to medium enterprises hard," Altenkirch said.

"These are the enterprises that are responsible for a lot of job creation and they were hit hardest by the recession," she said.

- Sapa