The North Gauteng High Court has handed Cape Town a significant victory in its ongoing battle against delayed electricity tariff decisions, adopting the City’s proposals to impose strict new timelines on the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa).
In a ruling that could benefit residents across all South African municipalities, the court declared Nersa’s public participation process for 2025/26 municipal tariff applications invalid under section 172(1)(a) of the Constitution.
The court order establishes three critical deadlines that Nersa must now meet annually: informing municipalities of increases granted to Eskom and other generators by 31 January, considering and publishing every municipality’s cost-of-supply study and tariff application for public participation, and finalising all municipal tariff application decisions by 5 May while simultaneously publishing the reasons for each decision.
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis welcomed the court’s decision, describing it as “a positive step for residents in all municipalities across South Africa, who will benefit from more transparency in electricity tariff-setting decisions.”
The mayor was particularly critical of Nersa’s previous approach, stating that the order “halts Nersa’s chaotic and delinquent handling of municipal tariff applications.”
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“We are appreciative that the court accepted our arguments, imposing a timetable on Nersa that brings to an end the regulator’s common practice of late decisions, without reasons, after the municipal financial year has already begun, and after all budget calculations and public participation is long done,” Hill-Lewis said.
The City’s intervention came during legal proceedings initiated by lobby group AfriForum. Cape Town made recommendations to the court for revised Nersa timeframes, which were accepted by both the court and the applicants and now form the foundation of the court order.
Hill-Lewis emphasised that Cape Town has consistently sought reasonable treatment from the regulator, noting that the City is “one of a handful of municipalities that actually submits detailed cost-of-supply studies to the regulator each year in our efforts to run a sustainable, reliable, and dynamic electricity service for Capetonians.”
The court has issued a rule nisi, giving Nersa and other respondents until 18 November to show cause why the order should not be made final.
The ruling addresses long-standing concerns about Nersa’s tariff approval process, which has frequently resulted in municipalities receiving critical decisions after their financial years have commenced, creating budgetary uncertainty and hampering effective municipal planning.
