Electricity tariff hike: Residents, civil society organisations march to Eskom’s Megawatt Park

#StandUpSA and other organisations march to Megawatt Park against load shedding at Eskom MegaWatt Park on February 02, 2023 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Gallo Images/OJ Koloti)

• A few hundred people marched to Eskom’s Megawatt Park on Thursday.
• The organisers said the protest was a “call to action”.
• An 18.65% increase will take effect from April.

Angry residents and members of civil society organisations on Thursday marched to Eskom’s head office, Megawatt Park, in Sunninghill to protest against load shedding and the 18% electricity tariff hike, which will take effect from April.

News24 previously reported that the National Energy Regulator of SA awarded Eskom one of its largest hikes – 18.65% – for the 2022/2023 financial year.

#NotInMyName and StandUp SA led the march.

The secretary-general of NotInMyName, Themba Masango, told News24 they handed over a memorandum to Eskom.

The leaders of the organisations say the protest is a “call to action”.

The organisers believe that, given the state of the nation at the moment, the government of South Africa is not taking its citizens seriously.

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Masango said the protest was a continuation of the action which took place on 20 January 2023 in Pretoria.

He said the main purpose of the protest was to “register the dissatisfaction that Eskom is giving the citizens”.

“We can’t be charged for full electricity when we’re experiencing power cuts,” Masango said.

The protest took place, despite the rain.

A spokesperson for the Johannesburg Metro Police Department, Xolani Fihla, said they had been expecting a maximum of 300 participants, but he estimated there were around 250 people.

Masango said that, if Eskom did not heed their call to provide sustainable solutions and plans within the 30 days, there would be another protest.

Eskom’s spokesperson, Sikonathi Mantshantsha, could not give comment because he wasn’t present at the protest, while the general manager, Andrew Etzinger, also did not comment.