The National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) convened its inaugural Tribunal sitting in December, setting in motion accountability for municipalities failing to adhere to critical maintenance protocols and other breaches of their licensing conditions. The implications of non-compliance are dire, with municipalities facing fines of up to R2m a day. On 18 December, Nersa called its inaugural tribunal sitting to deal with municipalities not in compliance with their electricity distribution licence conditions.
Not having a maintenance plan or not complying with a maintenance plan was among the reasons provided by Nersa that could lead to steps being taken against a municipality. Municipalities can be fined up to R2-million a day for continuing transgressions. Last week Thursday, in Nelson Mandela Bay, two 132 kV electricity transmission towers collapsed due to what the metro described as “infrastructure vandalism, compounded by adverse weather conditions”.
Visuals of the remaining structures, however, clearly showed that the pylons were badly rusted – on Friday, during a briefing, the municipality admitted that rust was a “contributing factor”. Over the weekend, the metro’s executive mayor Babalwa Lobishe said an Eskom team was checking the stability of the rest of the pylons. In September last year, then acting executive director of Nelson Mandela Bay’s electricity and energy directorate, Tholi Biyela, announced that he was leaving the metro to pursue opportunities elsewhere.
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His departure followed the submission of a detailed turnaround strategy for the troubled directorate – a document that, in hindsight, reads as a warning about failures now playing out. Besides flagging deteriorating infrastructure, poor maintenance practices, budgetary pressure and weak revenue collection, the plan also warned of corruption, political interference and internal instability within the directorate – factors Biyela said undermined accountability and placed critical electricity infrastructure at risk. This is the second set of high-voltage cables to collapse in the city.
The first incident took place in August 2024. After that incident, former executive director of electricity in the metro Luvuyo Magalela resigned. In the current financial year, the 2025/26 budget explicitly addresses the maintenance of electrical infrastructure through both operating expenditure (for repairs) and capital expenditure (for renewal and upgrades).
The budget said the “rehabilitation and maintenance of infrastructure” was a “key challenge facing the municipality”. The 2025/26 budget specifically provided R146.7-million to the electricity service for repairs and maintenance. The budget further allocates R105.6-million for repairs and maintenance specifically classified under “Electrical Infrastructure”.
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