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New Rules for Power Prices: How the Court is Protecting South African Consumers
A New Era for Electricity Tariffs: What South Africans Need to Know
For years, South African households have faced sudden electricity price hikes with little chance to object or even understand how those increases were approved. But that chapter may finally be closing. A major legal victory has introduced new rules that promise clearer communication and stronger public participation when tariffs change.
This time, residents are being brought into the conversation.
Court orders strict timelines for tariff decisions
The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has officially enforced fixed annual deadlines on the National Energy Regulator of South Africa. The ruling requires Nersa, Eskom, and every municipality across the country to follow a structured timetable each year:
• Eskom must submit its tariff adjustment application by 31 August
• Nersa must inform municipalities of wholesale pricing by 31 January
• Municipalities must lodge their tariff applications by 20 March
• Nersa must make and communicate its final decisions by 5 May
These steps are now legally binding. No more shifting of deadlines behind closed doors. No more last-minute approvals that leave households feeling blindsided before a new financial year begins.
The decision also states that every tariff application and every cost of supply study must be made available for public comment. If a municipality tries to sidestep this, Nersa must flag it clearly.
Why the ruling matters
Civil rights organisation AfriForum drove the case and has hailed the outcome as a milestone that protects electricity consumers nationwide. Their local government affairs manager, Morné Mostert, explained that this creates a genuine space for communities to influence the costs they are paying. South Africans are no longer expected to accept tariff hikes purely on faith.
With cost information now compulsory and visible, it should be easier to challenge fees that feel inflated or unfair. For middle-class families battling to stretch their budgets and for small businesses already squeezed by load-shedding costs, transparency is more than a small victory.
Goodbye uncertainty, hello clarity
The ruling overrides a recent instruction from Nersa that all tariff applications for the 2026 and 2027 financial years must be submitted by 12 December 2025. The regulator had warned that municipalities that failed to meet that date would not be allowed to raise tariffs at all.
That warning no longer stands.
The court has confirmed that the new dates are the only valid ones. And unlike before, when the system felt unpredictable, this schedule will repeat every year. South Africans now know when tariff changes are coming and when they can have their say.
What happens next
Nersa has already begun the review process for the 2025 and 2026 municipal tariffs. It must now ensure that every application is published online and open to feedback for a full 30 days. The regulator must also explain its reasoning each time a tariff is approved.
This shift introduces something South Africa’s electricity pricing system has lacked for a long time: consistent accountability.
A step toward fairness
Electricity prices continue to weigh heavily on households that have spent years adjusting to frequent load shedding, rising costs, and the need for backup power solutions. While this ruling does not lower tariffs overnight, it promises a fairer and more honest process for determining them.
South Africans deserve to know where their money goes. Now, they finally can.
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Source: MyBroadband
Featured Image: iStock
