Part 1 Revenue Application: Multi-Year Price Determination ... - Eskom

Overview of Multi-Year Price Determination
2013/14–2017/18 (MYPD 3)
Table 38: Comparison of Eskom and international electricity costs in 2010 (c/kWh)
Country Utility Average price (c/kWh)
Malaysia TNB 190
Kenya KPL 68
Thailand EGAT 65
South Korea Kepco 46
Argentina Pampa 40
South Africa Eskom 32
India NTPC 32
China CRPH 30
Source: LTE Energy, in association with EA Energy Analysis, 2012. Information sourced from annual reports. The unit
price is obtained by a basic currency conversion. There is no indication of whether these prices are cost reflective or if
the utilities have a similar energy mix to Eskom. These costs exclude Eskom‟s subsequent price increases.
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A 2012 annual survey of electricity and natural gas prices by the NUS Consulting Group, an
international energy consultancy, found that the country‟s electricity prices (in US cents per
kilowatt hour) moved up from 16th place (ranked in terms of highest to lowest) in 2011 to
11th place in 2012 as a result of its 23% price change in the year. South Africa was one of
eight countries with increasing electricity prices. The country with the greatest increase was
Australia, where electricity went up by 27.8% due to the introduction of a carbon tax
(Australia also relies on coal-fired generation for much of its electricity) and increased
network and infrastructure costs.
Significantly, half the countries NUS surveyed – particularly those deriving a considerable
portion of their power from hydroelectric schemes, natural gas and unconventional gas
sources (fracking) – registered a decline in electricity prices. It should be noted, however,
that almost all the countries in the NUS survey are advanced industrial countries. Their
economic profile and customer needs are considerably different to those in South Africa, so
there is limited scope for direct comparison.