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Cape Town – The voices of poor communities were not being heard at the National Energy Regulator (Nersa) hearings for the proposed 17% Eskom tariff increase at the Cape Town Convention Centre (CTICC), according to a representative of the One Million Climate Jobs Campaign.
Sizwe Manqele from the campaign’s provincial working group told the Nersa board that “the voices of the people are not being heard” and that "the community is disadvantaged by the hearings being hosted at the CTICC".
He called on Nersa to take the hearings to township areas like Khayelitsha in Cape Town and KwaMashu in Durban.
Nersa is continuing public hearings on Eskom's application for a R22.8bn adjustment for its 2013/2014 financial year. If this is granted, it is expected to lead to a tariff hike of about 17%, the City of Cape Town told the panel on Monday.
The regulatory clearing account application by Eskom is for cost recovery and revenue adjustments based on actual past variances and not a revenue application based on future estimates.
“We are paying more for electricity... we are paying more for less... the kilowatts are less. We have taken our slips over the past couple of months... where we used to get 10 kilowatts of electricity we now get 7,” Manqele explained.
Nersa's next round of hearings will be held in Port Elizabeth on January 20.
Nersa is expected to make its decision by February 26 2016.
