A high court order potentially impeding the Matjhabeng Local Municipality to increase the electricity tariff until the adjustment budget in 2025, has set the cat amongst the pigeons.
On 28 June, the Pretoria High Court delivered an order that municipalities who attached a cost of supply study to the original application for tariff increases, may levy the increased tariffs. There is a 60-day deadline for outstanding municipalities to comply with the order.
Currently, only 66 municipalities in South Africa comply with the stipulations of the order. The Matjhabeng Local Municipality does not.
In 2022, a court order set the guideline and benchmark method used by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) to approve municipal tariffs.
A notice to the municipal-licensed electricity distributers was issued in November 2023. All municipalities in the country had to comply with this.
Piet Botha, DA councillor, asks why Matjhabeng did not comply with this notice. He demands to know why the cost of supply study was not included in the budgetary process when it was served before council on 31 May.
“Council must make sure that we play an oversight role on this so that the time frame of 60 days are met as per the court order. If the increased tariffs have already been billed to consumers, then a credit must be allocated to their accounts to rectify the over-billing,” he says.
Jakes Jooste, chairman of the Welkom Business Forum, says Matjhabeng has to abide by the court’s outcome, which means they can only adjust the tariffs in 2025, with the adjustment budget.
Manie Pretorius, FF Plus councillor, says they will exercise their function of oversight and will ensure that the tariff increase approved by the ANC majority is not implemented.
“We will now put pressure on the municipality to recover the funds that would have been fed by rate increases and are now being forfeited from non-paying residents.”
