State-owned power supplier Eskom said it would submit its tariff adjustment application, envisaged to run from April 2009 to March 2012, to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa), “in the coming weeks”.

The application fell under the second multiyear price determination, or MYPD 2, and would indicate the adjustments to the electricity price from April 2009.

Nersa spokesperson Charles Hlebela confirmed that the agency had not yet received any submission from Eskom, and could not give an indication when it expected to receive the application.

Once the application was received, due process would be followed and a public consultation would also take place, he affirmed.

Previously, Eskom had submitted its tariff request by the end of August and Nersa generally had made a determination by late December, or early January. However, in 2008, Eskom requested more time, given the significantly changed global economic climate.

Eskom spokesperson Fani Zulu told Engineering News Online that a lot of work had been done on the application, which was being finalised, in order to be handed in imminently.

Zulu stated that the recent international financial and economic developments necessitated a review the utility’s assumptions that underpin the tariff application.

He noted that electricity demand had come down towards the end of 2008, particularly since a number of energy-intensive smelters and furnaces had cut back severely on production. The long-term impacts on demand needed to be taken into consideration, particularly the effects that this would have on the capital expenditure programme, Zulu added.

In December, Eskom announced its decision not to proceed with the proposed nuclear power station build, owing to concerns over funding. The utility had received ratings downgrades from ratings agencies, including Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s.