COMMENT ON THE SECOND AMENDMENT BILL OF THE ELECTRICITY REGULATION ACT 94 OF 2006 (GN1746 of 10 February 2022)

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), on behalf of the Life After Coal Campaign (LAC), submitted comments on the Second Amendment Bill of the Electricity Regulation Act (ERA) 94 of 2006. The CER argues that the amendments fail to integrate climate change obligations and a just transition, while granting excessive discretionary power to the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy. The submission calls for stronger regulatory oversight by NERSA, increased transparency in licensing and procurement, and the protection of public participation rights in line with PAJA and PAIA.

• The CER argues that the ERA Amendment misses a critical opportunity to integrate climate change obligations and the transition to clean energy. It suggests that decision-makers, including the Minister, NERSA, and the Transmission System Operator (TSO), should have a clear obligation to make decisions aligned with decarbonisation and a just transition away from fossil fuels.
• The submission identifies a regulatory gap where 'new generation capacity' definitions exclude generation for own use, direct supply agreements, and facilities for export. This could allow large-scale producers (e.g., 6800MW for an industrial hub) to operate without a Ministerial determination or be subject to the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), potentially causing negative climate impacts if coal or gas is used.
• The CER expresses concern over NERSA's interpretation of section 10(2)(e), noting that NERSA has issued generation licences (specifically citing Karpowership) without requiring prior environmental authorisations. The CER proposes that the Act be amended to explicitly require a Record of Decisions (RoD) for Environmental Authorisation and other permits as a prerequisite for a licence.
• The document criticizes the proposed shift in power regarding section 34 determinations, where the Minister would have final say after consultation with NERSA, rather than a joint decision. The CER also objects to the proposed deletion of requirements for procurement procedures to be 'fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective'.
• The CER strongly objects to proposed insertions in section 10(3) and section 33(4) that would allow the withholding of 'commercially sensitive' information from the public. They argue this would exacerbate current trends of heavy redaction of tariffs and pricing in licence applications, which are matters of public interest and should be governed by the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA).
• The submission claims that current and proposed publication requirements for licence applications in section 11 are inconsistent with the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA). The CER proposes increasing the public comment period to a minimum of 60 days and requiring notices to be published in national newspapers with exact links to documents.
• The CER opposes the proposed section 14A, which would allow the Minister to determine licence conditions and tariffs for IPP procurement processes. They argue this wide discretionary power could lead to uncompetitive, non-transparent processes and the procurement of more expensive energy sources.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2022). COMMENT ON THE SECOND AMENDMENT BILL OF THE ELECTRICITY REGULATION ACT 94 OF 2006 (GN1746 of 10 February 2022). https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/LAC-comments-on-the-ERA-draft-amendment-25.03.2022.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. COMMENT ON THE SECOND AMENDMENT BILL OF THE ELECTRICITY REGULATION ACT 94 OF 2006 (GN1746 of 10 February 2022). 2022. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/LAC-comments-on-the-ERA-draft-amendment-25.03.2022.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=COMMENT ON THE SECOND AMENDMENT BILL OF THE ELECTRICITY REGULATION ACT 94 OF 2006 (GN1746 of 10 February 2022) |date=25 March 2022 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/LAC-comments-on-the-ERA-draft-amendment-25.03.2022.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2022comment, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{COMMENT ON THE SECOND AMENDMENT BILL OF THE ELECTRICITY REGULATION ACT 94 OF 2006 (GN1746 of 10 February 2022)}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2022}, month = mar, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/LAC-comments-on-the-ERA-draft-amendment-25.03.2022.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }