Sparks flew at an electricity conference on proposed tariff hikes on Thursday, with an economist confronting a senior Eskom manager on his claim that its prices were "really" not that expensive.

Economist Mike Schussler took the stand and questioned numbers presented by Eskom chief officer for generation Brian Dames. He then accused the government of "wanting to be in this Marxist, socialist kak" by providing free electricity to the poor.

Schussler's emotional presentation, in which he told Eskom "you don't need a fucking finance model", came after Dames addressed a packed room at a conference, organised by Solidarity trade union in Pretoria, on proposed electricity tariff hikes.

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