The National Energy Regulator of South Africa will decide on 18 June whether to approve Eskom's request for a 53 percent tariff increase this year.

Public hearings into the proposed hike ended on Thursday with Eskom's chief executive Jacob Maroga saying the country was in a deep power emergency.

"It is deeply serious. It's material. It will stay so for a number of years," he told the last day of the Nersa hearings.

He said electricity tariffs would have to go up significantly, the government would have to invest more and Eskom would have to borrow more money if the country was to overcome its electricity crisis.

"The power problem is that we have run out of reserve margin.... We are in a deep power emergency... It is going to take a few years to deal with it," he told the hearings.

Eskom needs some kind of cash injection

This would require working together to find solutions.

Nersa's electricity subcommittee will have to take into account the more than 40 oral submissions and 300 written submission it has received on the issue.

"The big issue we have to take into consideration is that Eskom need some kind of cash injection to be able to survive into the following year and other years," said Thembani Bukula who chairs the subcommittee.

He has already pointed out that Eskom failed to convince the regulator of the need for R2.5-billion for a demand-side management programme.

"DSM has not been motivated to the level that makes us comfortable to release R1-billion or any amount for that matter," he said.

He added that Eskom also clearly had some inefficiencies, as was pointed out during the hearings, and that this would also play a factor in the regulator's decision for a price increase.

He said this would especially be on the primary energy costs Eskom wanted to recover.

"They may need certain amounts, but we'll put conditions," he said.

Sapa