Correcting facts of the electricity tariffs presented by Mayor

MAYOR Geordin Hill-Lewis is continuing to disseminate inaccurate information to its customers in his media release on Friday.

- 

The Electricity Regulation Act 4 of 2006 (ERA) mandates municipalities to charge only tariffs approved by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA). Section 15(2) of the ERA explicitly states that licensees, including municipalities, "may not charge a customer any tariff other than that determined or approved by NERSA as part of its licensing conditions."

Yet, the City of Cape Town has been charging its customers an unregulated electricity tariff component not approved by NERSA. This deviation from the requirement of the section quoted is considered a breach of the ERA and the conditions of the municipality's electricity distribution license.