South African trade unions are threatening strikes after the country's government allowed state-owned power firm Eskom to raise prices by 24.8%.

南非政府同意国有电厂伊斯康将电费提高24.8%，这一做法遭到工会的反对。

Eskom has struggled to meet demand for electricity in South Africa

Both consumers and businesses will struggle with significantly higher electricity bills, unions argue.

The Johannesburg Chamber¹ of Commerce and Industry said firms were already struggling to cope with the fallout（附带结果，原子尘） of recession and slow economic recovery.

The extra expense and risk of strikes were a "double whammy（祸不单行） ", it added.

"In this climate, with the economy where it is, obviously it has a huge impact, it is not good for recovery," the group's president, Mark Nowitz, told the BBC.

Job loss fears

Patrick Craven from the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU南非总工会) said he was worried that extra costs from higher electricity prices would deter³（制止，阻止） firms from taking on more staff.

"Many businesses, which are struggling to survive, will not be able to afford such a massive increase. Jobs could be lost, fewer new jobs will be created and many firms may even be forced to close down," he said.

Figures released earlier this week showed that South Africa's economy grew at an annualised（年度的） rate of 3.2 % in the fourth quarter, helped by a strong rise of 10% for the manufacturing sector⁴.

But there are fears that the prospect⁵ of a big jump in power prices could dent²（削弱，减少） that growth.

Dawie Roodt, chief economist⁶ with Efficient Group, an asset management firm in Pretoria, told the BBC the country's economy remained quite fragile.

"I'm afraid this increase of around 25% in electricity prices is going to have quite a significant impact on the South African economy," he said.

"Some sectors⁷, for example manufacturing and most definitely the mining industry, will be quite hard hit by this huge increase in electricity prices."

Rise expected

A big increase in power prices has been on the cards for some time as the state-owned generator⁸ has failed to meet the growing demand for electricity.

Eskom, which provides more than 90% of the country's electricity, needs fresh funds to build more power stations.

In recent years power rationing⁹（定量配给） has caused shortages or blackouts（灯火管制） which have been especially troubling for South Africa's mining industry - the big driver of the country's economy.

Eskom wanted permission to increase power prices by 35%.

The government settling below that level will ease some of the Reserve Bank of South Africa's short-term concerns about inflation.

However Eskom has also been permitted to increase electricity prices by a further 25% next year and again in 2012.