AfriForum fights NERSA over lack of public participation in new municipal electricity tariffs

Civil rights group AfriForum is challenging the National Energy Regulator of SA's approval of implementation of municipal electricity tariffs without, as it says, the use of proper cost studies and public participation processes.

As Moneyweb reports, NERSA argued in the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday that customers have no right to see what it costs their municipalities to supply them with electricity,

'This information, which is compiled in a formal cost-of-supply (CoS) study, forms the basis of municipal tariff applications that NERSA must assess annually', the article points out.

In its application, AfriForum requests that NERSA’s public participation process, which was followed for the current financial year’s new municipal electricity tariffs, be declared invalid due to the lack of opportunities for the public to provide input, amongst other procedural 'defects'.

The organisation also wants the court issue an interdict to ensure specified timelines for future public participation processes.

Stephen Grootes gets input from energy and energy finance expert, Ruse Moleshe.

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He questions whether the argument from the energy regulator is not in fact unconstitutional, in the sense that the public have the right to government information of this nature.

It would depend on the type of information, Moleshse says.

"If it's proprietary information that may impact on other players in the market, possibly from a competition point of view, there could be an argument that you only see sanitised info and not everything."

In general though, she says Grootes is on the right track, as South Africa is a consultative democracy and this is enshrined in our Constitution.

"This electricity cost information is available to an extent because if you look at Eskom and the multi-year price determination, it's clear how the formula is made, and what info there is available. However, you wouldn't get to the detail of how much was this contract with so-and-so; that is why I'm saying it depends on the specifics."

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