JOHANNESBURG - South Africans are facing higher electricity bills after Nersa came to a R54-billion settlement with Eskom.
The move will push tariffs above inflation, hitting poor households, small businesses, and struggling municipalities the hardest.
Saftu says the settlement is a symptom of a broken energy model, and the public is paying for decades of mismanagement, debt, and corruption.
WATCH: Discussion | Nersa's approved 12.74% hike met with criticism
Saftu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavin said firms will look at cutting jobs to protect their bottom lines.
"This is many times the rate of inflation and will lead to two things: firms will be impacted negatively and pass over the costs of this to consumers," he said.
"And before you know it, the rate of inflation will increase, inviting the Monetary Policy of the Reserve Bank to impose even higher interest rates than we have now."