Electricity pricing policy to be revised?

The hearings were scheduled to take place at Nersa's offices in Pretoria on 2 and 3 February but will now be held once the review of the electricity pricing policy has been finalised.

Economist Mike Schussler told i-Net Bridge/Business Live that the country was reaching a point where its electricity prices were on a par with those in the developed world.

He says that last year the average American industrial tariff had been lower than prices paid in South Africa. He says South Africans are paying for power stations that are not yet generating power and this isn't a sustainable position for the country.

Schussler said that Eskom had originally asked for a price increase of 45% when prices were set last year and, while they only got 25%, the utility still managed to make excellent profits, so the original demand was way out of line.

For more:

• Business Lives: Why is government reviewing electricity pricing?
  
• Nersa: National Electricity Regulator.
  
• I-Net Bridge: I-Net Bridge