GOOD Press Statement by Anton Louw,
GOOD Cape Town Councillor Responsible for Finance
27 July 2023
Today in the Cape Town city council, Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis falsely claimed that Theewaterskloof had imposed a 16% electricity tariff increase.
This was in defence of the City of Cape Town’s astronomical 17.6% tariff increase that came into effect this month.
The city imposed this increase despite the National Energy Regulator only approving a 15.1% increase.
Using Theewaterskloof as an example was not only a completely irrational argument but the facts were not accurate.
On the Theewaterskloof’s website under Documents/Budget/Final-Tariff-list, it clearly shows that the tariff increase is in line with Nersa’s approved 15.1%.
Geordin Hill-Lewis’ statement today was incorrect and the GOOD party demands the mayor apologises for misleading the public.
Even if Theewaterskloof was also in breach of the NERSA-approved electricity tariff hike of 15.1%, which it isn’t, Hill-Lewis’ argument is senseless and irrelevant.
It is flawed to try and deflect from his own government’s breach of the law.
Just because someone else is breaking the law, it does not mean we should.
The city deserves better leadership.
GOOD believes it was the mayor’s intention to compare a GOOD run municipality to a DA one.
The two municipalities are not comparable in size or budget.
They also have vastly different ways of breaking down electricity tariffs per customer usage.
In fact, the City of Cape Town has almost R10-billion in the bank and is better placed to give relief to its residents.
The property boom in Cape Town has left lower and middle-income households struggling to pay their electricity and rates obligations following the General Valuation Roll 2022.
GOOD reiterates its call for Nersa to intervene urgently.
The regulator has already confirmed to the GOOD Party that the city has no right to charge above their recommendation of 15.1%.
In the media, the City of Cape Town continues to dispute Nersa’s methodology, calling it “unlawful”.
This is another blatant misrepresentation of the truth; the court has taken issue with the methodology but has given the energy regulator until 2024 to amend it.
So Nersa’s current recommendation is lawful. It is in fact the City of Cape Town that is failing to follow the law.
The GOOD party will continue to fight the city’s electricity tariffs on behalf of the residents who are struggling to keep the lights on.
Media Enquiries:
Anton Louw, GOOD Cape Town Councillor Responsible for Finance
Cell: 082 377 3335
Email: anton@cisfs.co.za
Samantha Jackson, GOOD Acting Media Manager
Cell: 083 550 9875
Email: media@forgood.org.za