Who and what is AfriForum?

AfriForum is an Afrikaans civil rights organisation that protects the rights of minority groups at national as well as provincial level, and anyone who can identify with AfriForum’s principles and objectives may join the organisation. AfriForum’s community plan focuses on mobilising communities to thus take control of their own streets and neighbourhoods again. AfriForum ensures that your constitutional and civil rights are recognised and protected at national level.

Wie en wat is AfriForum?

AfriForum is ’n Afrikaanse burgerregteorganisasie wat die regte van minderheidsgroepe op sowel nasionale as provinsiale vlak beskerm, en enigiemand wat met AfriForum se beginsels en doelstellings kan identifiseer, mag by die organisasie aansluit. AfriForum se gemeenskapsplan fokus daarop om gemeenskappe te mobiliseer om só weer beheer terug te neem oor hul eie strate en woonbuurtes. AfriForum verseker dat jou grondwetlike én burgerregte op nasionale vlak erken en beskerm word.

AfriForum secures milestone victory: Court upholds new binding timelines

Soundbite: Morné Mostert (English)

Soundbite: Morné Mostert (Afrikaans)

AfriForum achieved a decisive victory in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria this week in its case against the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa). In terms of Judge Etienne Labuschagne’s order, AfriForum’s application for the implementation of specific timelines for all future municipal electricity tariff applications was granted.

This order follows Labuschagne’s ruling on 31 October this year that Nersa’s approval of the implementation of municipal electricity tariffs without the use of proper cost-of-supply (COS) studies and public participation processes was unconstitutional. The judge also issued a rule nisi with a return date of 18 November and requested all respondents, including all 158 municipalities, to show cause, if any, why the order regarding the proposed timelines should not be made.

The court has now imposed the following annual timelines on Nersa, Eskom, and all municipalities:

Eskom must submit its Retail Tariffs Structural Adjustments Application (ERTSA) annually by 31 August.
Nersa must notify municipalities in writing by 31 January of the wholesale tariffs at which electricity will be supplied for the following financial year.
Municipal electricity tariff applications must be submitted to Nersa by 20 March.
Nersa must make its final decision on each municipality’s tariffs by 5 May and communicate the reasons for the decision immediately.

In addition to setting this timeline, the court also ruled that all tariff applications and COS studies must be made public for public comment – and that Nersa must explicitly indicate instances where a COS study is absent from the application. Furthermore, no deviation from the court order is permitted without the court’s approval.

“This ruling is a true milestone for electricity consumers across the country,” says Morné Mostert, Manager of Local Government Affairs at AfriForum. “The court has unequivocally found that Nersa’s long-standing, systemic and persistent failure to follow timely and transparent processes for tariff increases has completely undermined the public participation process. This new regulatory regime brings a permanent end to those malpractices and creates, for the first time, a system where consumers can truly and timely participate in decision-making on electricity tariffs.”

This week’s court ruling follows in the wake of AfriForum’s 2024 victory in which the High Court ruled that Nersa’s decision to consider municipalities’ applications for tariff increases without the required COS studies was unlawful and invalid. In terms of the 2024 ruling, the setting of electricity tariffs must be based on transparent and complete COS data.

“The latest ruling confirms this principle and emphasises that Nersa must be legally bound to fixed deadlines for the publication of each tariff application and the accompanying COS study, which significantly improves public participation and the integrity of the process,” Mostert concludes.

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