Eskom tarrif hike
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South Africa's energy regulator, Nersa, approved an 18.65% tariff hike for Eskom for the fiscal year 2023–2024, effective from April 1 this year.

Eskom has requested a 32% increase for 2023–2024, highlighting the severity of its predicament as it struggles to pay independent producers to add extra power to the failing grid while also rushing to acquire diesel in case its coal plants break down.

The power utility requested an additional 22.52% increase in tariff for 2024/25 in the same application. Nersa (The National Energy Regulator of South Africa), on the other hand, has only granted a 12.74% increase.

"The energy regulator attempted to strike a balance between Eskom's financial sustainability issues, the impact on the South African economy, and affordability of electricity services to customers," Nersa chair Thembani Bukula told a news conference, as per Reuters.

According to the regulator, the "extremely tough decision" was made to balance the demands of consumers and Eskom.

Given the high rate of inflation, the constricted profit margins for power-hungry businesses like mining, and Eskom's desperate attempt to keep the lights on intermittently while preventing a full-scale blackout, the overall value would climb by 33.7% over the next two years.

The state-run power utility, which is in complete disarray due to Stage 6 blackouts and a catastrophic R400 billion debt load, is in severe need of funds.

The foreign minister of South Africa, Naledi Pandor, questioned the frequent failure of power plants and suggested that they might be interpreted as an "attack on the country," News24 Reported.

It can be seen as "an oppositional act against South Africa," the minister told business executives at an event in Johannesburg, Thursday.

According to recent reports, there have been malfunctions at 11 units across eight power plants, causing South Africans to experience power outages that can last up to 8 hours a day.

Meanwhile, the country's Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana, told Reuters Thursday that the government would take on Eskom's debt in a "staggered manner" to keep the country's debt-to-GDP ratio from skyrocketing.

"It's an important variable because it's going to demonstrate to me Eskom's sustainability in the long-term and ... therefore what debt should I take," the minister told Reuters.