The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Eastern Cape has approached the Eastern Cape High Court in a bid to have the Nelson Mandela Bay metro’s new electricity tariffs reviewed and set aside.
In court papers filed on Friday, they argue that the municipality failed to follow a lawful public participation process and unlawfully removed the Inclining Block Tariff, resulting in significantly higher electricity bills for many residents.
DA Nelson Mandela Metro candidate Retief Odendaal says the matter is set to be heard in August.
“The Democratic Alliance has officially filed its application in the Gqeberha High Court to challenge Nelson Mandela Bay’s unlawful electricity tariffs. We believe residents were denied a fair public participation process and that many households have been hit with electricity increases of up to 30% instead of the 10% average increase as promised by the metro. The matter is set to be heard on 4 August, and we will continue fighting to protect residents from unfair and unconstitutional tariff increases.”
The Executive Mayor of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, Babalwa Lobishe, says they are consulting on the matter of the new electricity tariff application.
“If there is miscalculation, Treasury might have not also been good in the process. It was part of the advice we received. So, if there is this calculation from our side, we are going to attend to it and make sure we fix what is wrongly done.”
