South Africans should not pay for past government mistakes which had resulted in the country's current electricity crisis, an ANC MP said in Pretoria on Tuesday.

"South African citizens and consumers should not have to pay for the mistakes government has made since the 1990s," Langa Zita told the National Energy Regulator's (Nersa) hearings into Eskom's proposed 53 percent tariff increase.

He said government had been informed of the potential crisis in 1994 but did not act because it thought the private sector would help to expand Eskom's capacity.

"Unfortunately it did not come," he said.

Electricity price increases should be smoothed out over the next five years to allow consumers time to adjust, he said.

Zita, who is chairperson of Parliament's portfolio committee on environmental affairs, said increases of 14.8 percent per annum over the next five years would be better.

This figure he said was arrived at by deducting the Demand Side Management (DSM) costs from the overall costs.

"The cost is absorbable to everyone. Eskom will make a profit, not a lot in the beginning but more as time goes on," he said.

He said the ruling party felt that some tariff increase was necessary and that a substantial fiscal injection was needed.

It was the view of the ANC that the state should bear the DSM costs.

He said there also should not be an increase to compensate for Eskom's under-recovery in the past two years.

Speakers for labour, business, and civic organisations agreed earlier on Tuesday that Eskom's proposed 53 percent tariff increase would have a severe impact on the economy.

SA Confederations of Senior Organisations (Sacso) executive member Bill Nobile said the a 53 percent increase would have a "disastrous effect" on the elderly and chairperson of the Greater Middelburg Residents Association's Ben Mokoena said the consequences would be dire.

Business Unity SA's Roger Baxter said studies had shown that the economic impact of the hike would reduce the country's gross domestic product and would lead to about 55 000 job losses.

"It will have the biggest negative (effect) on the economy," Baxter said.

"Pricing is not the only solution; effective leadership and strategic appropriation of management is important," he added.

Rejecting the proposal Cosatu said: "The proposed increase is not economically viable, it will have devastating effects not only on the poor but also on the economy."

These sentiments were shared by Nedlac who said prices should be increased over a period of five years to avoid a "shocking" impact on the economy.

A "quantum leap" in prices was discouraged.

Meanwhile, the Anti Privatisation Forum's Silumko Radebe said: "It would negatively affect the living standards of people... especially the poor."

The Consumer Goods Council of SA said the power utility's lack of transparency and aversion to other supply possibilities had created the impression that there were ulterior motives at play.

"Eskom's lack of commitment must be put on the table," said Nick Tselentis.

Miriam Altma of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) said Eskom had "far overstated" what it needed in terms of the tariff increase.

"An 18 percent is enough," she said, adding that Eskom had not been clear about what it needed to achieve.

Trade union Solidarity said the tariff increase was not only due to a lack of planning but also because of a lack of human resources.

"The current skill supply is insufficient for Eskom's skill demand; it could bring Eskom's operation and expansion to a screeching halt. Coal can only be turned into electricity by people," said spokesperson Dirk Hermann.

Sapa