The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) is assessing the full impact of a High Court of South Africa (Gauteng division) judgment, which found its municipal tariff applications process was inadequate and invalid.

Civil society organisation AfriForum had brought the application, which challenged the adequacy of Nersa's consultation process.

The High Court also imposed specific timelines on Nersa processes in considering municipal tariff applications, the regulator says.

The proposed timelines include Nersa communicating the Eskom bulk tariffs to municipalities by January 31 each year and that municipalities must submit their tariff applications by March 30 each year.

The proposed timelines also require Nersa to finalise all municipal tariff applications by May 5 each year.

The Court has issued an interim order in respect of these proposed timelines. It has also set a return date to allow all cited parties to submit affidavits for or against the order before a final ruling is made, Nersa says.

Meanwhile, Nersa had published the municipal tariff applications for the 2025/26 financial year for public comments for a period of 30 days.

Some municipalities submitted their tariff applications close to the decision deadline imposed on Nersa in line with the Municipal Finance Management Act.

It also sought assistance from the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, the National Treasury and the Department of Electricity and Energy in encouraging municipalities to submit their tariff applications within the prescribed deadline, as well as to ensure the applications are supported by cost of supply studies.

The tariffs for all 177 municipal tariff applications received were calculated based on each municipality’s cost of supply in compliance with the Electricity Regulation Act.

In response to the consultation process, about 131 written comments were received and considered during the decision-making process, Nersa says.

Meanwhile, AfriForum says the court ruling found that Nersa’s approval for the implementation of municipal electricity tariffs without the use of proper cost studies and public participation processes was unconstitutional.

“The new timelines in the municipal electricity increase process will ensure that there is no shortage of opportunities for the public to provide input on the proposed electricity tariff increases,” AfriForum says.

Nersa had previously argued that cost studies should not be published with applications in every case, as they are confidential, but the judge ruled against this and found that all applications must also have a cost study attached to them.

If an application is submitted without one, Nersa must stipulate it as such, the organisation adds.

“This ruling ensures that Nersa follows a process where consumers can have a proper and fair say in municipal electricity tariff increases and that Nersa and municipalities cannot pull the wool over consumers’ eyes. AfriForum is confident that these fixed timelines will bring renewed stability to electricity tariff adjustments,” says AfriForum local government affairs manager Morné Mostert.

“As a regulator, Nersa should ensure that municipalities act within the framework of the relevant legislation and also continuously take into account the interests of consumers,” says AfriForum local government affairs adviser Deidré Steffens.