Nersa’s new electricity rules: A step forward or a shield for apartheid-era monopolies?

South Africa’s electricity market is on the brink of reform, but the latest draft rules from the National Energy Regulator (Nersa) raise serious questions about whether true competition will ever reach black townships and rural communities. As Zanele Mokoena writes, the cautious pace of liberalisation risks entrenching the very monopolies that have kept our people in the dark for decades.

The National Energy Regulator has released Version 3 of its draft rules for electricity trading for public comment. The document outlines a phased introduction of competition into the retail electricity market, starting with large industrial users and eventually expanding to all customers. But for a