FILE PHOTO: Power lines supplying electricity by stated owned Eskom run through sugar cane fields on a Tongaat Hulett farm in Shongweni, South Africa April 29, 2018. REUTERS/Rogan Ward/File Photo

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African energy regulator NERSA on Tuesday gave power utility Eskom the go-head to recover 32.69 billion rand ($2.25 billion) of costs incurred over the past three years through higher tariffs over a four-year period from 2019 to 2023.

Eskom had been hoping to recover the costs in three years.

Cash-strapped Eskom, which is battling to emerge from governance and financial difficulties, had applied for 66.6 billion rand to compensate for costs that were not factored in previous tariff increases granted by the regulator.

NERSA said in June that Eskom could recover the 32.69 billion rand but did not provide the time frame at that time.