Cape Town residents who are currently on the City of Cape Town’s electricity grid may also be impacted by the 18.65% increase announced by Eskom.
Also read: Just in: South Africans will pay 18.65% more for electricity this year
Yesterday, Eskom announced an 18.65% increase as of April; the City of Cape Town’s electricity increase will be impacted by the hike and is set to start in July.
According to City Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, the City’s draft budget detailing the increase in electricity will be announced in March.
In an interview with EWN, the mayor says the City’s electricity increase could be the same, but nothing can be guaranteed at the moment.
According to the mayor, the City of Cape Town had anticipated a 15% increase.
“It is not up to municipalities around the country to subsidise Eskom’s finances just like it can not be up to the public. We are both getting squeezed. The problem is Eskom’s balance sheet which needs to be fixed,” said Hill-Lewis.
The City aims to procure cheaper electricity over time from renewable sources and move away from the Eskom grid so that City customers can benefit from cheaper electricity in the future, but this will not be feasible in the upcoming financial year.
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