Bad news for electricity price hikes at over 100 municipalities in South Africa

Staff Reporter

Over 100 municipalities in South Africa will have to keep paying the latest 2024/25 electricity price hikes approved by energy regulator Nersa earlier this year, as the bid to have these changes reversed has been dismissed.

The Gauteng High Court has dismissed AfriForum’s application to force the implementation of an earlier court order that would have reversed the tariff hike.

Earlier this year, AfriForum took the 2024/25 Nersa-approved price hikes to court, seeking to have them halted because the municipalities failed to base their tariff applications on cost-of-supply studies required by Nersa.

On 1 July this year, 178 licensed electricity distributors nationwide implemented the 2024/25 municipal power tariff increases, despite only 66 distributors conducting cost-of-supply studies.

AfriForum won the initial case in court, with the impacted municipalities given 60 days to submit the necessary studies or be forced to revert to 2023/24 pricing.

Nersa first appealed the matter