The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) invites members of the public to submit comments on State-owned power utility Eskom’s request for a temporary electricity price relief for negotiated pricing agreements (NPAs) with Samancor and Glencore-Merafe for a period of 12 months.

Written comments should be submitted via email to EskomNPAApplication@nersa.org.za. The closing date for written comments is January 20.

Stakeholders are also invited to attend a public hearing scheduled for January 27, at 14:00, or virtually on Microsoft Teams.

However, the public hearing will not take place if no party has registered to make representation to the regulator. Persons who have registered to attend will then be notified, and a notice of cancellation will be published on the Nersa website.

The consultation paper is available on Nersa's website.

In October 2023, Nersa approved six‑year NPAs for ten ferrochrome smelters. The NPAs came into effect on January 1, 2024.

Since late 2024, international ferrochrome prices have collapsed owing to oversupply and increased competition from Chinese producers benefiting from subsidised electricity tariffs.

Electricity represents 35% to 40% of ferrochrome production costs, rendering South African smelters less competitive, Nersa notes in a January 7 statement.

In February 2025, Samancor and Glencore-Merafe declared hardship under the take‑or‑pay provisions of their NPAs. Eskom supported temporary relief, and Nersa approved a six‑month waiver of take-or-pay obligations, effective August 2025.

However, ongoing market challenges continue to threaten the viability of the affected smelters.

On December 2, 2025, Eskom submitted a further application requesting a temporary tariff relief for Samancor and Glencore-Merafe for a period of 12 months.

Before a decision is made, Nersa must embark on a public participation process involving stakeholder consultations, hence its invitation.

Following engagements between industry and government, Eskom has now requested a temporary reduction in the NPA tariff from January 1 to December 31, 2026.

Government, through the Department of Electricity and Energy (DEE), is developing a ring‑fenced support mechanism to fund the tariff difference, ensuring that no additional burden is placed on standard tariff customers, Nersa adds.

The regulator has been asked to process the application on an expedited basis to facilitate an early operational restart for the affected smelters. It must conduct a full public participation process, hence its invitation to stakeholders to comment on the economic, regulatory and operational implications of the proposed temporary tariff relief.