Africa-Press – Eswatini. Sizwe Siyaya who made submissions during yesterday’s public hearing said if the proposed electricity tariff went ahead then EEC must brace itself for a strike.
“We will mobilise the community and trade unions to protest this tariff,” Siyaya stated.
Siyaya enquired why schools in rural areas were being made to pay for the fixed electricity charges just like businesses yet they did not make any form of profit.
He also raised the issue of EEC forcing homestead to have a meter unit for each and every house in the yard. Siyaya said installing meters proved to be something that was costly. He further pointed out that EEC was not willing to assist customers who had their appliances burnt or damaged because of electrical faults.
Siyaya went on to point that it must be noted that electricity was no longer a luxury but a necessity. He said students in tertiary institutions who stayed in rented apartments used electricity and most of these students were from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Siyaya said should these hikes be applied the students would also suffer.
Businesss, customers reject proposed electricity tariff
The customers took a strong stand against the proposed electricity tariff.
This was during a tariff review public hearing which took place yesterday at ECOT.
EEC managing Director, Ernest Mkhonta made a presentation before the public stating that as EEC they had looked hard at their costs for efficiency and kept their operating costs escalations (excluding imports) to a single digit for both years.
“The continued suppression of the tariffs over the past four years has set a domino effect which will lead to the average electricity prices skyrocketing in future,” Mkhonta stated.
He said the proposed average price increase of 21.31 per cent was to cover EEC’s costs for 2023/24 and 2024/25. Fixed charge (monthly fixed and access charge) increments projected at 4.52 per cent for the 2023/24 and 4.21 per cent for 2024/25,” the managing director stated.
Mkhonta further explained that some of the cost drivers for EEC included oil prices leading to local fuel prices fluctuations, metal price fluctuations and the weakening of the exchange rate.
He said also the increase in distribution network was by approximately 300kms (increases operating and maintenance costs) with an average annual customer growth previously of five per cent.
Following presentations made by Eswatini Energy Regulatory Authority (ESERA) and EEC most of those who had attended the event made submissions stating that they were rejecting the proposed electricity tariff.
They submitted that the electricity prices were already high.
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