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Canola plants blossom in a field beneath electricity pylons, as South African utility Eskom experiences frequent power outages, near Cape Town, South Africa, September 8, 2022.
Independent Energy Analyst Clyde Mallinson says 11 million households in the country live in energy poverty.
His comments follow the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa) announcement that it has approved electricity tariff adjustments for Eskom for the next three years.
Consumers have to pay a 12.7% tariff increase in the 2025-2026 financial year.
The hike is significantly lower than the power utility’s original request of 36.1% for the upcoming year.
Mallison says households have to choose between electricity and food.
He says, “The truth of the matter is that people can’t afford electricity at its current price before those increases come in. There is something like 11 million households who live in what is referred to as energy poverty where they are having to make daily decisions between electricity and food, and the implications during the announcement of the tariffs was that Nersa was protecting those who couldn’t afford electricity by reducing the requested increase of 36% down to let’s call it 12.7.”
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