Advocacy body the South African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) Justice and Peace Commission said it was strongly opposed to utility Eskom’s application for a tariff increase and requested that the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) reject the electricity producer’s application.

The SACBC said the poor would be hardest hit by the tariff increases. “The increase in electricity tariffs will influence price hikes in food and other essential products that are used by the poor because companies pass on their electricity price increases to consumers,” SACBC Justice and Peace Commission chairperson Bishop Abel Gabuza said in the submission.

The SACBC also believed that the 25% increase would most likely slow economic growth and increase unemployment levels. “In the current slow economic environment, the sudden increase in electricity pricing will likely dissuade investment and expansion, especially in energy-intensive industries such as agriculture, mining and manufacturing,” read the submission.

Gabuza noted that electricity was considered to be a public good that should be accessible to all, but that the 25% increase would put electricity out of reach of the poor and would reverse the gains made by government’s efforts to make electricity available to everyone.

The SACBC recommended that Nersa conduct an independent analysis of the impact of a 25% increase on food prices and unemployment levels, and make such findings public, before making any determination on the tariff increase.

Gabuza said the main question remained whether a 25% hike would solve the crisis at Eskom when poor management and lack of political will persists. “The current crisis at Eskom is largely the result of poor management and a cumulative lack of political will to address the energy crisis. The secret pricing deals between Eskom and the smelters, the payment of huge bonuses to Eskom executives and the payment of dividends of R9.2-billion to government are all indications of this poor management which urgently needs to be addressed,” he reiterated.

The submission recommended that the government set up a national electricity crisis council, made up of a broad spectrum of stakeholders that included civil society and trade unions that should be empowered to develop a pro-poor turnaround plan for Eskom and oversee its implementation.