The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has initiated the review process for municipal tariff applications for the 2026/27 financial year, which begins on July 1, 2026, setting a submission deadline of December 12 for licensed municipalities and private electricity distributors.

Nersa said public consultation processes would be undertaken in November and December to meet the March 15, 2026 deadline for approving municipal tariffs as required by the Municipal Finance Management Act.

The review follows a recent court ruling, where Nersa’s processes for approving municipal electricity tariffs for the 2025/26 financial year were found to be unconstitutional, owing to inadequate cost studies and public participation.

The legal challenge was brought by AfriForum and as part of the judgment the Gauteng Hight Court issued an interim order in relation to proposed timelines for such applications. The regulator is opposing these timelines, citing a “misalignment with its administrative processes”.

In its November 19 notice initiating the review, Nersa said that all municipal tariff applications must be accompanied by Cost of Supply (COS) studies and said municipalities were expected to comply strictly with the prescribed timelines.

“Failure to comply with these requirements will result in no adjustment being made to the licensee’s electricity tariffs for the 2026/27 financial year, as only complete applications received by the stipulated deadline will be processed and approved for implementation on 1 July 2026.”

All tariff applications, together with the COS studies, will be published on Nersa’s website for a period of 30 days to solicit written comments and the regulator said its decision would take these written comments into consideration.