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Pretoria - In the next few months the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has to come to a crucial decision for the South African economy regarding Eskom's request to raise electricity tariffs countrywide by 45% a year for three successive years.
The entity however muddled cents and rands when on its website it announced the Tshwane Metro Council's power tariffs that apply from July 1.
According to the Nersa website, the electricity tariff for a middle-class household in Tshwane is R74.20. The unit to which this tariff applies is not made clear.
If it is 1 kWh, the unit in which other municipalities' electricity tariffs are quoted, a household of four consuming 800 kWh a month would be billed R59 360. This before the addition of VAT.
In response to enquiry, however, Nersa admitted its error to Sake24. The correct tariff is 74.2c/kWh, giving the consumer an account for R593.60 (VAT excluded).
Jaco Kleynhans, spokesperson for trade union Solidarity, said the public had lost faith in Nersa over the past two years. It appeared that applications for tariff increases were not properly studied, understood or considered, and their accuracy was not above suspicion.
"They [Nersa] simply take technical decisions, and have no regard for the effect," he declared.
- Sake24.com
For more business news in Afrikaans, go to Sake24.com.
