Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/190081 
Year of Publication: 
2018
Series/Report no.: 
WIDER Working Paper No. 2018/32
Publisher: 
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki
Abstract: 
While much research has been done on the economic impacts of load-shedding in South Africa, fewer studies have focused on the effects of the rapidly rising electricity tariffs. The issue of tariff increases has now become even more critical, with technological developments making it easier and cheaper for consumers to reduce their demand for grid-based electricity. There have been some South African studies that have attempted to estimate the price elasticity of electricity demand or to show vulnerable sectors, but all have struggled to demonstrate the potential impacts on the competitiveness of individual firms and their decisions to invest in their own generation, and the longer-run impacts on electricity demand. This study examines the timing and type of own-generation investment decisions that are viable for 21 large companies, and the likely impact of this on South Africa's electricity utility.
Subjects: 
net present value
own-generation
elasticity of demand
investment
firm profitability
JEL: 
D22
D25
L51
L94
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
ISBN: 
978-92-9256-474-2
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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