It’s sad that the energy regulator needs to be held accountable by the public.

This is the concern raised by the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber’s David Marten. They, along with their colleagues in Pietermaritzburg and Midlands, approached the High Court to declare the Guideline and Benchmarking Methodology used by Nersa for tariff determinations as unlawful.

Marten says that Nersa is supposed to intercede on behalf of South Africans when Eskom requests further price hikes. He says that many municipalities are dealing with increasing cases of theft and financial losses, and cannot keep up with the electricity price hikes.

He says their victory in court is one way of protecting municipalities and businesses from paying for inefficient and vandalised resources.