- The Pretoria High Court has delivered a landmark ruling in favour of electricity consumers, finding that the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) failed to follow due process in approving municipal electricity tariffs.
- The judgment, handed down on 31 October 2025 in response to an urgent application by civil rights group AfriForum, declared NERSA’s consultation process inadequate and unconstitutional, though the existing municipal tariff approvals themselves remain valid.
AfriForum challenged NERSA over its handling of municipal tariff applications for the 2025/26 financial year, arguing that the regulator had approved tariffs without proper cost studies and sufficient public participation. While NERSA had published the tariff applications for public comment over a 30-day period and consulted relevant government departments, the court found the process fell short of legal requirements. During the consultation, NERSA had received approximately 131 written comments and had calculated tariffs for all 177 municipal applications based on each municipality’s cost of supply, in compliance with the Electricity Regulation Act, 2006.
The ruling also addressed proposed timelines for future tariff-setting processes. NERSA is now required to communicate Eskom’s bulk electricity tariffs to municipalities by 31 January each year, receive municipal tariff applications by 30 March, and finalise all decisions by 5 May. The court issued a rule nisi with a return date of 18 November 2025, allowing interested parties, including 158 municipalities, to provide reasons why the proposed timelines should not be confirmed. This procedural step does not affect the court’s finding on the unconstitutionality of NERSA’s previous processes.
In its defence, NERSA had argued that cost studies attached to tariff applications were confidential and need not be published in every case. The court rejected this argument, ruling that every application must include a cost study and that any submission lacking one must be clearly identified.
AfriForum hailed the judgment as a victory for all electricity consumers. “This is not only a victory for AfriForum and its members, but for every person who pays for electricity,” said Morné Mostert, AfriForum’s Manager of Local Government Affairs. “The ruling ensures that NERSA follows a transparent process, giving consumers a fair say in municipal tariff increases. We are confident that these fixed timelines will bring greater stability to electricity pricing.” Deidré Steffens, AfriForum’s Advisor on Local Government Affairs, added that as a regulator, NERSA must ensure municipalities act within the law and protect consumer interests, warning that AfriForum would take further action if necessary.
The decision marks a significant step toward greater transparency and accountability in South Africa’s electricity tariff-setting process, reinforcing the public’s right to meaningful participation in regulatory decisions that directly affect their cost of living. NERSA is currently assessing the full impact of the judgment on the electricity industry and its administrative processes, with a decision on the way forward expected to be communicated in due course.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
