For the first time, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa NERSA has received the required cost of supply CoS studies from every municipality that applied for tariffs in the 2025/2026 financial year. This marks a significant improvement in regulatory compliance following extensive support from NERSA and its partners.
Of the 178 licensed electricity distributors, 177 submitted CoS studies. The only exception was Phumelela Municipality, which no longer participates in the tariff process after ceding its distribution function to Eskom.
The progress is notable. When the CoS process began in 2020/2021, NERSA received just 34 studies with only two aligned to the regulators framework. In 2024/2025, only 76 licensees submitted CoS studies a 43 compliance rate.