Portfolio Committee urges urgent review of electricity pricing amid affordability crisis
The Portfolio Committee on Electricity and Energy has called on Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa to accelerate the review of South Africa's electricity pricing policy.
Over the past few years, South Africans have faced sharp electricity tariff hikes, with Eskom implementing a 12.74% increase effective last month, following approval from the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA).
The continued rise in electricity tariffs has prompted warnings that the increases are unsustainable and could result in significant financial strain for both households and businesses.
Last year, Ramokgopa acknowledged that electricity in the country was becoming increasingly unaffordable. He emphasised that one of the most critical challenges facing the nation is balancing the need to stabilise the energy sector with the responsibility of protecting citizens.
'One of the most critical challenges we face is balancing the need to stabilise our energy sector with the responsibility to protect citizens from economic hardships, particularly the poor and the marginalised communities,' he said.
Committee Chairperson Nonkosi Mvana revealed that the committee called on the Minister of Electricity to review the electricity pricing policy to better reflect the country's current energy dynamics.
'Given the problem of affordability of electricity in the country, the committee called the Minister of Electricity to review the electricity pricing policy to reflect the country's dynamics within the electricity in SA," Mvana said, according to the SABC.
Mvana further revealed that the policy is currently being reviewed to align with broader electricity reforms.
"The policy is currently being reviewed to align the policy with the broader electricity reforms. One of the objectives of the review is to obtain a balance between competitive imperatives. That is an affordable electricity tariff for low consumers.'
[email protected]
IOL Business
Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
32 minutes ago
- IOL News
EFF's Julius Malema is ‘quietly' singing ‘Hallelujah hosanna' over Trump-Musk fallout
Economic Freedom Fighters(EFF) leader Julius Malema is probably celebrating celebrating the US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk fallout. Image: Itumeleng English/Independent Newspapers EFF leader Julius Malema is 'quietly enjoying' the dramatic fallout between US President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, the two figures who have long criticised him over his outspoken rhetoric, radical political views, including the controversial "Kill the Boer" chant. The two had previously accused Malema of inciting violence against white farmers. The red berets have denounced the claim. The latest split between the former allies who were once bound by political interests appears to align with Malema's long-standing opposition to both. Trump, in a televised Oval Office tirade, said he was "very disappointed" in Musk after the tech billionaire criticised his spending bill. Musk fired back on X (formerly Twitter), accusing Trump of ingratitude, claiming credit for his 2024 win, and even referencing unverified claims linking Trump to Jeffrey Epstein. The feud has political and economic fallout. Tesla shares dropped, Musk threatened to withdraw from a major US space programme, and Trump also hinted at pulling Musk's government contracts. The clash comes amid rising tensions between the US and South Africa. Tensions between the two countries have intensified since Trump's second term. Last month, during a high-level meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Trump administration in Washington, aimed at mending diplomatic relations between the two countries, Malema took centre stage. Trump played clips of Malema singing the 'Kill the boer' chant, which he argued incites violence against white farmers, but the red berets rubbished the claim. Trump called for Malema's arrest and denounced South Africa's land reform as 'land seizure.' IOL News previously reported that Malema has vowed to continue singing the controversial song despite strong criticism from Trump. The US also cut HIV/AIDS funding and granted refugee status to 49 white South Africans, claiming racial discrimination, which Pretoria has vehemently rejected. With Musk born in South Africa and now publicly clashing with Trump, Malema 'may' see this as more than political theatre, which is possibly a moment of vindication. Speaking with IOL News, Professor Theo Neethling, from the University of Free State's Department of Political Studies and Governance, said the fallout between Trump and Musk was 'long predictable.' 'The Trump-Musk fallout was long predictable, and even if the EFF delights in it, the fact remains that the United States conducts diplomatic relations with the South African government, not with the EFF…,' he said. 'The EFF is a relatively small party, as President Ramaphosa pointed out to Trump, and it is not relevant in South Africa's international relations.' Neethling emphasised that diplomatic relations are maintained between the US government and South African government, not with political outliers. 'The Trump administration also conducts its relations with the South African government, and what carries much more weight in the US than Elon Musk are the views and roles of top Republican voices like JD Vance, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz. They will be decisive in the future US-South Africa relations.' Commenting on the developments of Trump and Musk clashing, Neethling said Malema will continue 'loudly in his rhetoric of African self-reliance,' but South Africa's Government of National Unity (GNU) understands the importance of maintaining relations with the US, which is the largest economy in the world. 'Around 600 American companies invest and do business here in South Africa and contribute to job creation,' he told IOL News. 'The Minister of Finance (Enoch Godongwana) also rightly pointed out recently that if the US does not want to do business with a country, it places that country on the periphery of international trade and investment.' According to Neethling, the Trump and Musk fallout will have no impact on future US and South Africa relations. 'Again, top Republican voices like JD Vance, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz are what matter, as well as those of senior officials in the White House.' Meanwhile, independent political analyst Goodenough Mashego also expressed his views on the Trump and Musk fallout, adding that is probably 'enjoying' seeing the two clash. 'I think Julius Malema is really enjoying, is really reveling at what is happening because it absorbs him in a way to say, look, two liars are now fighting. You know, they say, do not disturb. Napoleon Bonaparte once said, don't disturb your enemy when he's making a mistake.' Mashego said he believes that Malema is currently not in any mood to disturb what he called 'enemies' as they make mistakes. 'I hope he doesn't tweet. I hope he just watches the show. He just enjoys reading Elon Musk and Donald Trump's Truth Social tweets. So that, you know, I think it's a marvel…' He added, 'think EFF, I think Julius Malema, he now knows that the person who's been whispering into Donald Trump's eye is no longer in the picture, which means the rhetoric from the part of the White House towards him is going to be limited because Trump doesn't have an original opinion.' 'All that he's saying is a megaphone. He's just saying what other people want him to say. So I think this is really the end of the Que de Bois charade that Donald Trump used to stage. And it's the end of that whole obsession by Donald Trump with Elon Musk, because going forward, with the Que de Bois, because going forward, whatever Elon Musk says relating to South Africa, I think one of the people is going to really try to ridicule it will be Donald Trump.' 'So they have two fools, two buffoons, really ridiculing each other,' Mashego added.
IOL News
2 hours ago
- IOL News
Volkswagen still most popular brand for young South Africans, but Suzuki catching up
Polo stands for Popular, among buyers under 35. Image: Supplied For the past 10 years, Volkswagen has been the most popular brand for South Africa's new and used vehicle buyers aged under the age of 35. According to Lightstone, financing data shows that the German brand has consistently remained the top choice for under 35s over the last decade, but below that, the rankings have shifted. Around 2020, Toyota moved from third to second spot on the leaderboard. Most popular car brands among South Africans under 35. Image: Lightstone Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Around this time Suzuki entered the top 10 for the first time and by 2024 it had taken third spot from Ford, which was second in 2015. The Blue Oval's discontinuation of smaller cars like the Fiesta, Figo and EcoSport are likely behind this, although the brand's Ranger bakkie remains immensely popular. Chery and Haval have also entered the top 10 in recent years, ranking eighth and ninth respectively in 2025, behind Hyundai, BMW and Nissan. BMW fell from fourth to sixth place between 2015 and 2025, while Chevrolet, fifth in 2015, fell rapidly off the list following the brand's discontinuation in 2017. Kia and Mazda have also fallen out of the top 10 in the past decade. The study did not show any specific model preferences among the brands, but given that the Volkswagen Polo Vivo has consistently been South Africa's most popular new passenger car model during this time period, it is likely favoured among the youth too. As for vehicle types, SUVs and crossover-type vehicles overtook hatchbacks as the most popular body style in 2024. These two formats account for 80% of sales to buyers under 35, with double cabs emerging in third, albeit with a share of less than 10%. Premium brands remain popular Interestingly, the Lightstone data also shows that since 2015 there has been a gradual increase in the average price point at which younger buyers were prepared to finance a vehicle, with this number rising from R200,000 to R321,500. This outpaces the inflation rate by just over R5,000. ALSO READ: All you need to know about May 2025's vehicle sales, including the 50 top sellers Premium vehicle brands also remain popular, albeit to a lesser extent, as Lightstone's automotive data analyst Andrew Hibbert explains. There is still a demand for premium brands amongst the younger consumers as both Audi and BMW have retained spots inside the Top 10 over the past decade, although they have shifted slightly from where they were in 2015,' Hibbert said. The percentage of female finance applicants has increased over the last decade. Image: Lightstone The Lightstone data analysis also showed some positive momentum on the gender front. In 2015, just 35% of finance applicants below the age of 35 were women, but this has gradually grown to 40% over the past 10 years. IOL
IOL News
3 hours ago
- IOL News
Starlink on their mind: What's @Trending in Mzansi
Starlink founder and owner Elon Musk's Starlink is a hot top, with X users divided on whether we need it or not Starlink is trending again, this time over whether South Africa needs it. Social media users on X share their views: @WillarShoko Eswathini now has an average download speed of 255-355 Mbps, faster than all states in America. This has been made possible by utilising local infrastructure in Southern Africa. Data centres, IXPs, and fibre in both Mozambique and South Africa. It's possible for the whole of Africa to have better Starlink internet than the rest of the world by embracing technology and approving Starlink in Africa as a continent. The approval can be done today; any other option will probably take forever, be more costly, and will significantly widen the gap. All Chinese students are learning AI today, most Africa's students don't have access to the internet. @JenPeremore South Africans deserve Starlink operating in South Africa which will provide access to internet to rural communities, and access to news which gives a platform to a range of voices even government-opposing voices because that is what democracy is about and that is what freedom of speech is about. All the major network providers including Vodacom, CellC, MTN and Telkom must step aside and let Starlink operate in SA, because having Starlink operate in SA is not about protecting corporate interests but about the freedom of all South Africans. It's about access to unbiased information, a range of voices and empowering all Soutb Africans. BEE is not empowering anyone. @chante75967 If China had a superior technology to @Starlink, comrade @CyrilRamaphosa would've allowed it. He clings to local cellular service providers because it's keeping him rich. We do want Starlink, @elonmusk. South Africa is falling behind technologically. @Maso_241119 Not sure about Congo, but South Africa has one of the fastest internets in the world, and not as expensive as Starlink at that. Yet Elon forces his way through as if we need his internet, we don't. @mat24486 What's the obsession with Starlink. Most people don't even know why they want Starlink in SA. Every time I hear Starlink and South Africa in a sentence, it feels like there's something deeper than that. @Butch89803114 Old trick by ANC CRIMINALS to keep Starlink out of South Africa using techniques from an old bag of tricks to indefinitely delay Starlink's ability to enter the country without going through middlemen.-and will PUNISH THE MIDDLEMAN and all in South Africa. DAILY NEWS
