Sake24 has lodged a high court application to force electricity utility Eskom to reveal the tariffs it charges BHP Billiton, one of the world's largest mining companies, Beeld reported on Thursday.

Sake24 wants to know how much its aluminium operations in Richard's Bay and Mozambique pay for electricity.

This comes after an investigation by Sake24 journalist Jan de Lange which showed that these operations used as much power as cities such as Durban and Cape Town.

Beeld said the tariffs BHP Billiton paid were lower than what it cost Eskom to generate the electricity.

Eskom has declined to reveal how much BHP Billiton pays.

Sake24 wants a court order to force Eskom and BHP Billiton to make the information public.

South African consumers, already suffering after the global recession, are facing a 25 percent hike in electricity prices every year for the next three years.