South Africans are in for a hefty rise in the price of electricity, as energy regulator Nersa has agreed to Eskom increasing its tariff by over 15% for the 2021/2022 financial year.

The agreement between Nersa and Eskom came after the power utility won a case in the high court in Pretoria in October 2020, which allowed it to push for a higher tariff increase than Nersa was willing to allow.

Under the agreement, an amount of 5.44c/kWh will be added to the average standard tariff, bringing the rate Eskom customers will be forced to pay in the 2021/2022 tariff year to 134.3c/kWh — a 15.63% increase.

The increase will see the debt-laden Eskom raise a further R10-billion in “allowable revenue”, according to a court order issued by judge Joseph Raulinga.

Though the tariff increase is a further blow to cash-strapped South Africans, it’s a boost for the beleaguered power company, which has over R400-billion in debt and is owed R31.5-billion in overdue debt by several municipalities.

  • This article was originally published on Moneyweb and is used here with permission