Eskom's proposed 35% tariff hike would lead to more illegal connections because electricity users could not afford power, the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers said on Monday.

"This tariff hike will have far-reaching implications. One of them will be the escalation of energy theft," the institute's president Du Toit Grobler told hearings in Durban, organised by the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa).

Eskom wanted a 35% tariff hike each year for the next three years.

Grobler proposed that Eskom should design a tariff hike for the next ten years so that consumers would not be adversely affected.

He said the proposed tariff hike would also reduce economic growth, slow down the pace of recovery from the recession and lead to numerous job losses.

He raised concerns about people who did not pay for electricity and criticised municipalities, which wrote off debt for people who did not pay.

The hearing was also attended by various nongovernmental organisations, political parties and trade unions.

Eskom's acting CEO Mpho Makwana said the tariff was intended to cover the cost of the current electricity supply, adding that the power utility experienced massive financial shortfalls.

"The tariff hike will allow us to have a good balance sheet and put us in a position to get good lending rates," he said.

Makwana said another application might be necessary if Eskom's funding and other assumptions did not materialise.

"If there is a crisis, we will go to our parent [Nersa] and reopen the application," he said.