Johannesburg - South Africa’s energy regulator said on Thursday it has granted logistics group Transnet a 31.6% increase for the next financial year in the revenue it derives from moving fuel through pipelines.
A spokesperson at Transnet, which had applied for an 83.3% increase, said the company still needs to examine the decision before it can comment on the impact the difference may have on its financial commitments and capital projects.
The increase, which will kick in from April, is to be used to pay for a new pipeline launched in January which is Transnet’s biggest capital project to date.
Rates vary on the more than 20 fuel pipelines that the company operates.
Some rates for 2012/13 were reduced, while others were hiked by as much as 30%, said Rod Crompton, the regulator’s member responsible for petroleum pipelines.
Rates on the main route between Durban and Johannesburg, which supplies fuel from coastal refineries to the economic hub in Gauteng, were increased by 22%.
The 24-inch new multi-product pipeline running over 550 km replaces an old 12-inch line from Durban to Johannesburg, which is nearing the end of its life.
The cost of the entire project has been put at about R23.4bn.