The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) has completed the review and approval of all 176 licensed electricity distributor tariff applications for the 2026/27 financial year. The regulator announced the completion of the process on May 31, 2026. The approved tariffs will come into effect from July 1, 2026, and will apply to municipal as well as private electricity distributors across South Africa.
The tariff approval process was carried out under strict legal timelines set by the High Court. NERSA conducted its evaluations in line with the requirements of the Electricity Regulation Act and court directives. Earlier, on February 20, 2026, the High Court ordered the regulator to finalize all tariff decisions by May 11, 2026.
By the court-imposed deadline, NERSA had successfully reviewed and approved 159 of the 176 tariff applications that had been submitted. However, 17 applications were still outstanding. Three of these applicants obtained separate court orders allowing their tariff reviews to be processed outside the main approval schedule. The remaining 14 applications could not be finalized within the original deadline due to various delays.
To ensure compliance with legal requirements and avoid the risk of being found in contempt of court, NERSA decided to pause the evaluation of the remaining 14 applications. The regulator then approached the High Court with an urgent request for additional time to complete the process.
On May 26, 2026, the High Court granted NERSA an extension and moved the deadline to May 30, 2026. Following the court’s decision, the regulator quickly completed the review of the outstanding applications and approved all remaining tariffs on May 27, 2026. This allowed NERSA to meet its legal obligations within the revised timeline.
Public participation was an important part of the tariff review process. NERSA published every tariff application and the related cost of supply studies on its official website to allow stakeholders and the public to examine the submissions. The regulator received around 2,000 public comments during the consultation period.
According to NERSA, all comments received were carefully reviewed and considered before final decisions were made. The regulator said the process reflects its commitment to transparency, accountability, and compliance with legal requirements. NERSA also confirmed that detailed decision documents and explanations for each approved tariff will be published on its website under the electricity regulator decisions section for public access.
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