Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - The National Energy Regulator of SA's (Nersa's) decision to decrease Transnet's tariff on pipelines, as charged through the petrol price, will come back to haunt consumers, the parastatal said.
"The effect of Nersa's decision is to defer the inevitable tariff increases to when the pipeline is brought into use," Transnet spokesperson John Dludlu said in a statement released on Thursday.
"In effect, consumers will have to pay for both the capital expenditure plus the associated interest when the pipelines being constructed are commissioned."
On Monday, Nersa announced that the cost of transporting petroleum through Transnet pipelines would be reduced by 10.38% from Wednesday, after Transnet had asked for a 74.42% tariff increase to help fund the construction of the new R12.3bn, multi-product pipeline between Durban and Gauteng.
This tariff is levied on each litre of fuel bought by Gauteng motorists, with the reduction resulting in a a saving of 1.37c a litre.
Nersa decided to set tariffs for the operation of the existing system alone.
Transnet said it is still entitled to recover the amount it had requested: "This recovery has been postponed to the future - in the form of substantially higher tariff increases," it said.
- Fin24.com
