Eskom in court to set aside Nersa tariff decision
Embattled power utility Eskom is facing the National Energy Regulator of South Africa in court on Wednesday to fight a decision to deduct R69 million from a government bailout.
Tito Mboweni announced last year that the national treasury will be redirecting R69 billion toward the operational costs of the cash-strapped entity.
The two will face each other at North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria o dispute the entry of the bailout.
The bailout was set to come in the form of R23-billion annual payments over 3 years.
READ: Ramaphosa: We are paying continuous attention to Eskom
However, NERSA has listed the bailout as revenue generated by Eskom, which will ultimately affect the approval process for a 17.1% tariff increase requested by the power utility.
Energy expert Ted Blom says should Eskom win the court battle on Wednesday then South Africans face the possibility of paying more for electricity.
“The dispute arises on how Nersa treated that in Eskom’s increase application because Eskom and the government says the bailout was to help Eskom cover its operational cost.
“Nersa attributed the bailout to Eskom’s revenue as opposed to if the bailout was to relieve Eskom’s debt.”
LISTEN BELOW: