Are we being ripped off with power costs?

I READ a recent online article on Fin24 in which that said a Nersa regulatory specialist, Charles Geldard, had told parliament's trade and industry portfolio committee that municipalities procured around 60% of their funding from electricity distribution. This resulted in prohibitive energy tariffs imposed on industry, and a high risk of business closures and job losses.

The warning came after the committee heard that certain municipalities were adding markups of several hundred percent to Eskom's megaflex tariff.

According to the Energy Intensive Users Group of RSA the figure was 692% for the City of Tshwane and 548% for the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. This would appear to apply only to heavy electricity users in the industrial sector, but given the sharp increases in charges over the past couple of years for individual users, I am wondering whether the same applies to us, the normal consumers – are we being ripped off as well?

I haven't seen this issue covered in The Herald and am wondering whether the DA has actually "discussed” this issue with the municipality as besides the cost to individual house owners, there is the very real risk of business closures and job losses, etc.

Trevor Davies

Summerstrand, Port Elizabeth