Palliative relief

There were relatively high expectations ahead of the publication of the revised electricity pricing policy. Partly because the Minister had flagged it as a key document, but mostly because tariff hikes of more than 900% since 2007 have created broad-based affordability pressures, in some cases existential ones. The policy is important for setting the framework for long-term sustainability, but on the affordability front many of its remedies are palliative; balms that come in the form of subsidies, with the policy defining who should be eligible and whether the consumer or the taxpayer pays.

Raccontata daengineeringnews.co.za