Eskom wants another 21.6bn

Power utility wants the reimbursement through more tariff hikes.

Eskom’s application for a R21.6 billion reimbursement, through more tariff hikes showed the power utility’s incompetence in managing its finances, according to energy expert Ted Blom.

On Friday, the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) said it had initiated a public consultation process on two Eskom applications, one asking for new tariffs and the other claiming a shortfall on past tariffs. This was despite missing its own revenue target by 10%, according to Blom.

The regulatory clearing account (RCA) application, Nersa explained, was for R21.6 billion for the fifth year (2017-18) of the multi-year price determination 3 period. In its RCA application, Blom pointed out that Eskom “conveniently” hid the fact that it missed its own revenue target by over R118 billion.

“This is above the hikes that were awarded earlier this year,” he said.