On Wednesday, Solidarity issued a statement describing Eskom’s latest application to the National Energy Regulator of SA (NERSA) as absurd, irrational and unlawful.

The trade union warned that, if accepted, Solidarity would oppose the proposal “with all the legal recourse at its disposal.” This came after Eskom in its latest application requested among other things that a tariff of R938 per month be levied on consumers who are generating power themselves. According to Solidarity, SA’s only hope of getting out of the power crisis lies in small-scale power generation that is taking place on a large scale. “It is one thing if Eskom does not want to contribute towards solving South Africa’s power crisis. However, by making proposals such as this Eskom is changing from being a millstone around the neck to being an enemy of reliable power supply. If Eskom does not want to be involved in solutions itself we will litigate until at least Eskom no longer stands in the way of others who want to solve the matter,” Solidarity Chief Executive Dr Dirk Hermann observed. He went on to comment: “Instead of encouraging private power generation, Eskom now wants to tax it. Paying tax for a service is one thing; to pay taxes for no service is something totally different. Eskom now indeed wants to tax South Africans who are starting to provide their own services as a result of Eskom’s inability to supply power. Simply by tabling such a proposal creates huge uncertainty. The proposal should be eliminated as soon as possible.”

• Read Solidarity’s press statement in the above regard at Solidarity News

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