ELECTRICITY WOES

,7 is ironic that the Eswatini Electricity &ompany (EE&) is currently engaged in nego tiations with South African power provider Eskom, at a time when the cost of electricity in the country is set to increase to unbear able levels.

The negotiations are centred on the issue of the 25 year agreement Eswatini had with South Africa, for Eskom to provide power to the kingdom.

The EE& hopes to have the deadline for this agreement, which is next year, extended for an unspecified period.

While emaSwati cross their fingers that this deal does not come to an end, they find themselves in a fix for a different but related reason.

This is because the EE& has an nounced a tariff increase for the next financial year beginning April 1, 2024.

The Eswatini Energy Regulatory Authority (ESERA) approved an average 10.14 per cent tariff increase for the financial year 2023/2024 and 8.02 per cent for 2024/2025.

&urrently, E100 gives a household consumer about 47 units of electric ity but from April 1, 2024, the same amount will yield only 42 units.

This means that a family that uses E500 worth of electricity per month will lose 25 units.

This is a nightmare for many emaS wati, especially those who are un employed or earn just enough to get by. They might not be able to afford electricity.

Prices of various commodities keep rising while wages generally do not budge.

The parallel issues around power provision and the prices thereof are what Members of Parliament (MPs) should be worried about, instead of calling for more radio dramas and the employment of more soldiers.

They should be demanding facts, figures and justification from ES ERA, which is the ultimate authority that approves tariff increases.

Subsidies for the less privileged consumers would not hurt either.