- Nersa conceded its 2025/26 tariff approvals for five municipalities were unlawful.
- Who should receive credits, and how the corrections would work, remains contested.
Electricity users in five municipalities could benefit from a court fight over unlawful tariffs. But households have no confirmed refund amount or payment date.
The case concerns Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, Nelson Mandela Bay, Emfuleni and Madibeng.
Moneyweb reported on 11 November that the National Energy Regulator of South Africa, known as Nersa, conceded in the Pretoria High Court that its 2025/26 approvals were unlawful.
Large electricity users challenged errors in municipal calculations that the regulator had approved without checking.
Who benefits remains contested.
Ekurhuleni says it cannot afford refunds. Applicant Mpact proposed restricting adjustments to litigants, while Nersa argued corrections should cover all electricity users in the affected municipalities.
Judge RG Tolmay has asked lawyers for proposals and raised the possibility of an independent expert calculating overcharges.
“This cannot go on indefinitely,” she said, according to Moneyweb. The hearing was continuing when its report was published.
The difficulty of turning a court victory into money on an electricity account is already familiar to businesses in Pietermaritzburg.
Speaking to 702’s The Money Show on Wednesday, Pietermaritzburg and Midlands Chamber of Business chief executive Melanie Veness discussed a separate dispute concerning Msunduzi’s 2024/25 tariffs.
The chamber has been helping members pursue account credits following a court order.
“You pay the excessive charges and the municipalities don’t spend the money on electricity function,” Veness said.
She argued that excessive charges, combined with failing infrastructure, impose substantial costs on businesses. Her comments concerned the chamber’s experience of pursuing relief, rather than an announcement of household refunds in the latest case.
Nelson Mandela Bay residents have also dealt with a separate electricity refund process.
Scrolla.Africa reported in September that the metro had been ordered by the Gqeberha High Court to reverse a flat-rate pricing change introduced in July 2026 and repay residents who had paid extra.
Residents subsequently reported uneven refunds and different prices at electricity outlets. The municipality said its systems would identify qualifying customers automatically and blamed delays on different payment platforms.
That process concerns a different tariff change and court order. It does not establish that households qualify for refunds under the five-municipality case now being considered in Pretoria.
