The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Tshwane announced that it is formally escalating the city’s protracted electricity crisis to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), citing a systemic failure to provide stable power and alleging financial mismanagement by the current administration.
The move comes as large parts of the capital, particularly in eastern Pretoria, endure weeks-long power outages, crippling businesses and disrupting daily life.
DA Tshwane mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink, briefing the media in Pretoria, stated that the ongoing crisis demonstrates the city is failing to meet its legal obligations to residents. He argued that while infrastructure deterioration and funding shortfalls are acknowledged challenges, the city’s current actions are deepening the emergency.
“The experiences of the past few weeks have convinced us that if we want an independent assessment of the state of the electricity grid so as to inform good budget decisions, we are going to have to apply pressure,” Brink said.
The party is levelling serious accusations against the ANC-led multi-party coalition governing the municipality. The DA claims the coalition is diverting critical funds away from electricity infrastructure maintenance and instead using the money to pay for water tankers and private security services.
To amplify public pressure and pursue accountability, the DA is launching a city-wide petition. Concurrently, the party is preparing legal action aimed at forcing an independent forensic investigation into the state of Tshwane’s power grid and the municipality’s budgetary decisions.
This escalation to NERSA, the national body responsible for regulating the electricity supply industry, marks a significant intensification of the political battle over service delivery in South Africa’s administrative capital. The outcome could have implications for the metro’s governance and its ability to address the deepening infrastructure crisis.