Nersa greenlights Eskom tariff hike, implementation set for April The National Energy Regulator of South Africa is seeking a High Court extension to finalise approvals for 14 outstanding electricity tariff applications
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The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) is set to approach the court to seek an extension of the deadline to finalise approvals for 14 outstanding municipal and private electricity distributors’ tariff applications.
A May 11 deadline was imposed by the court earlier this year for the finalisation of tariff applications for the 2026/27 financial year.
However the regulator said on Tuesday that, of the 176 tariff applications received on March 31, a total of 162 had been approved within the prescribed timeframe.
Of the remaining 14 applications still being processed, seven were deemed to have outstanding information, while the other seven could not be considered before the court-imposed deadline expired.
To enable the consideration and finalisation of the outstanding applications, Nersa said it now had to approach the high court for permission.
“Nersa could not proceed to consider the remaining 14 applications outside the judicially set timelines, as this would have constituted a breach of the court order and contempt of court,” Nersa said in a statement.
“Proceeding outside the timelines would have exposed the validity of the approved tariffs.”
It warned that the inability to process and approve the remaining applications, despite them having been submitted within the required period, would create regulatory disruption.
“While the non-consideration resulted from the expiry of the court’s prescribed period, the affected licensees must have their tariffs approved for implementation from July 1,” it said.
“This follows the expiry of the court order deadline and Nersa cannot appropriate the relevant powers to itself outside of the court order.”
The amended Electricity Regulation Act prohibits licensees from charging tariffs that have not been approved by the Energy Regulator.
"Section 4 of the ERA further requires the Energy Regulator to approve electricity prices and tariffs. In this regard, all efforts to ensure the sustainability of the regulatory framework are vital, and approaching the High Court for appropriate relief is the only option available.
"Nersa will communicate with the 14 affected licensees on the way forward."
Cape Times