Cape Town Mayor welcomes High Court ruling on electricity tariff timeliness

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has welcomed a final North Gauteng High Court order that compels the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) to make municipal electricity tariff decisions on time, ending years of late rulings that have disrupted municipal budgeting across the country.

The court confirmed the City’s proposed timetable and declared Nersa’s public participation process for the 2025/26 municipal tariff applications invalid under section 172(1)(a) of the Constitution.

The ruling requires Nersa to inform municipalities of Eskom and other generator increases by January 31 each year, to consider and publish every municipality’s cost-of-supply study and tariff application for public participation, and to finalise all tariff decisions, with reasons by May 5. These deadlines reflect the City’s proposals during the AfriForum application and are now binding.

Hill-Lewis said the decision ends the uncertainty that came with Nersa’s repeated delays. “This final order makes it clear that Nersa cannot deviate from this court-ordered time table without approaching the courts for permission.

"This is most welcome as it brings to an end Nersa’s delinquent handling of municipal tariff applications and the common practice of late decisions, without reasons, after the municipal financial year has already begun.

"This has made a mockery of complex budget calculations and public participation, which are all complete by the time.

"Nersa decisions have arrived in the past. Now Nersa will have to inform municipalities of decisions timeously, and publish the reasons immediately. This is a positive step for residents in all municipalities across South Africa, who will benefit from more transparency in electricity tariff-setting decisions,” he said.

The final order follows Judge Labuschagne’s earlier judgment, which found that Nersa’s tariff-setting process for 2025/26 was unconstitutional.

The court ruled that Nersa had “fundamentally undermined” public participation by issuing notices too late, withholding cost-of-supply studies, and failing to publish information in newspapers or in multiple languages. In one instance, the regulator approved Mogale City’s tariff a day after publication, leaving no time for public comment. The judge found Nersa’s claim that cost-of-supply studies were confidential to be “beyond concerning” and unlawful.

Although the process was declared invalid, the court declined to set aside already approved tariffs, warning this would cause “uncertainty and disruption” to municipal finances. Municipal councils must adopt budgets by June 30 each year, and late tariff decisions have repeatedly undermined those timelines.

The court had initially issued a rule nisi, returnable on November 18, but the latest order — dated December 5 confirms that the timetable is now final. Nersa may not depart from any of the deadlines unless it approaches the courts for permission.

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