Pretoria - If Eskom is not granted a sizeable tariff increase it is likely to place the country at risk of not having enough electricity supply, said Chief Executive Officer Jacob Maroga on Tuesday.
"If we don't get the right amount of increase this year, obviously depending on the size, it means we have more risk in terms of security of supply," said Mr Maroga.
He was speaking at the end of a two-day National Energy Regulator of South Africa's (NERSA) public hearing into the state utility's 34 percent tariff increase.
Eskom's request was based on six principles, including enabling a thriving economy as well as having an economy that respects sustainability as well as making a contribution to the growth of the country among others.
Mr Maroga reiterated that the application was an interim one because the funding model was still to be completed. The parastatal is still in talks with government regarding this.
"We still have a process to go through to deal with the totality of what we require. This is not about Eskom this is about what the country requires. This requires a process of dialogue."
He explained that this was why the application to Nersa had been late.
Mr Maroga said Eskom would respond accordingly to the submissions made at the hearings and that the parastatal understood the impact of its request. "We understand its impact to the vulnerable members of our society," he said.
Many organisations, as well as the City of Cape Town and the South African Local Government Association (Salga), are against the proposed hike.
Executive Director of Infrastructure Services at Salga, Mthobeli Kolisa, said while he acknowledged that Eskom needed to cover its operational costs, the hike would disadvantage the poor.
"We are concerned about the impact, particularly on the poor, many are already struggling to pay for municipal services."
He said the application was "chaotic and incoherent".
The National Treasury has initially told municipalities to make provision for 25 percent but later changed the figure to 34 percent in their budgets.
"Municipalities were advised to budget for initially they said 25 percent, and then 34 percent. They said 25 percent in real terms and 34 percent in non-real terms," he said.
He said that if the application was rejected, it was likely that the increases later on would be larger thereby risking the financial viability of municipalities.
Mr Kolisa asked Nersa to take into consideration steps set out by the Treasury when making its decision on the matter.
The Anti Prioritisation Forum's Sthembiso Nhlapo said the utility had "dug its own hole" and that poor people should not be the ones paying the price. He also added that the 50 kilowatts of free electricity granted to the poor should be increased to 100 kilowatts.
Nersa will make a ruling on the matter on 25 June. Eskom is to bring another application to Nersa later in the year.
