Nersa’s curse is how tight to hold the purse

‘Honestly, 40% is unacceptable,” said Cape Town resident Denise Human before a public hearing held by Nersa in November into Eskom’s proposed electricity price hike. She was reflecting a common view. Certainly, Daily Maverick voters share the sentiment, voting the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) one of the runners-up for 2024’s Grinch of the Year. 

This dubious distinction reflects the bubbling frustration of a nation grappling with escalating electricity and other living costs amid a stagnant economy. And after suffering years of rolling blackouts, customers feel less than kindly towards Eskom, which has proposed a 66% revenue and price increase over three years: 36.15% for 2025, 11.81% for 2026 and 9.1% for 2027.

Read more: ‘Eskom, you are killing us’ — Gqeberha community members plead for halt to electricity tariff increases

Tasked with balancing the financial viability of Eskom and protecting consumers, Nersa occupies a thankless middle ground. In authorising significant price increases for electricity suppliers such as Eskom, the regulator appears – rightly or wrongly – as the villain in a larger narrative of economic hardship and strife.

Read more: ‘Bleeding us dry’ — Capetonians slam ‘unacceptable’ Eskom tariff hike as public hearings start

Now at the tail end of a process of public engagement for the tariff increase that has been decried by some as a “corruption tax”, Nersa will have to decide whether to increase tariffs and by how much. DM