Electricity tariffs in three metros unlawful, Nersa admits

Résumé détaillé

Court considering how to compensate electricity users who overpaid.

Energy regulator Nersa has admitted in the High Court in Pretoria that the electricity tariffs it approved for three metropolitan municipalities and two local municipalities for the previous financial year were unlawful.

One of the reasons is that the numbers underpinning tariff applications by the Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Nelson Mandela Bay metros, as well as the Emfuleni and Madibeng municipalities, were riddled with errors.

After large electricity users highlighted the errors in court papers, the regulator had little choice but to concede that its approvals were “indefensible”.

The court is now considering a remedy that would compensate those who overpaid while preventing a “flood” of applications seeking to have Nersa’s tariff decisions set aside because of similar errors.

Nersa and the municipalities have previously failed to comply with several court orders in similar cases, leaving applicants who approached the courts for assistance without the relief they had sought.

The court heard on 9 November that businesses in Nelson Mandela Bay had to pay 76% more for electricity in 2025/26 than it cost the metro to provide the service.

Judge RG Tolmay, who is hearing the latest applications this week, made it clear that she wants to issue an order that delivers actual relief, while preventing electricity users from having to return to court over incorrect tariffs.

“This cannot go on indefinitely,” she said, raising the possibility of appointing an independent expert to determine the extent of the overcharging so that affected customers could be credited without delay.

She also raised the possibility of stricter court supervision to ensure that the eventual order is implemented.

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