Steep increases in electricity tariffs
RESIDENTS of South Africa's biggest metros can expect to pay between 7% and 12% more for their electricity. As from today, Johannesburg residents will pay 7% more.
Ten other municipalities – including Cape Town, Tshwane, Buffalo City and Nelson Mandela Bay – have asked the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) for increases ranging between 7.63% and 12.11%.
The increase in the Bay could be as high as 8.2%, the Chamber of Business has reported. Cape Town's proposed 7.63% electricity increase would compensate for a fall in its energy sales but additional funds would be needed for the implementation of a new electrification programme.
Tshwane's 9.2% increase would go towards "aligning tariffs to Nersa benchmarks".
Rural households are not exempt from the increases. The estimated 296000 residents of Mpofana and Abaqulusi, in KwaZulu-Natal, and of Tswelopele, in the Free State, will know today if they have to pay electricity tariff increases of between 8% and 15%.
The increases are intended to protect revenue, cover high distribution losses, fund a smart metering pilot project, and contribute to costs of electricity infrastructure maintenance and improvement.
The power price increases are part of a slew of other hikes. Tomorrow the price of petrol will increase by 20c/l, bringing the cost to a near record high of R14.30/l.
The price of diesel will increase by 13c/l to R12.90/l.
Gautrain and Metrorail users are to be hit with fare increases. Metrorail one-way tickets will go up by 50c today; return tickets by R1. The cost of a weekly ticket will increase by between R3 and R7.
An independent economist with the Efficient Group, Dawie Roodt, said more petrol price hikes could be expected in the next few months as the rand was expected to depreciate further and the price of crude oil was poised to rise.
Debt Rescue chief executive Neil Roets said that all these increases in the cost of living would lead to many more people falling into debt. He said rising food and fuel costs and slow economic growth were making it difficult for people to repay loans on time.
One in every four South Africans was unemployed and nearly half of the borrowers were three or more payments in arrears. "The writing is on the wall for many middle-class families who have only recently escaped from dire poverty. Many will be pushed back into poverty. We have seen steady growth in the number of people being placed under debt review." - Olebogeng Molatlhwa
