Eskom's tariff hike 'will weigh heavily on mining industry'
The SA Chamber of Mines says it's worried that a 9.4 % tariff increase granted to Eskom this week, is not enough to secure jobs in the mining sector.
It says Nersa should have granted Eskom the full 16% which it had initially asked for, but this would put immense pressure on consumers' pockets.
The Chamber's Charmaine Russell says even if the power producer had been granted a full tariff increase, at least 40 000 jobs would still have been lost.
Also read: Nersa grants Eskom 9.4% electricity tariff hike
"We do expect that the electricity price increase will push a number of mining companies further into the red and necessitate further restructuring. So many parts of our industry are already in the red.
"If you look at the platinum sector, we've got 80% of production currently not making a profit," she said.
(File photo)