Legislation: Electricity Supply Bylaws

A Constitutional Court ruling decided on 9 October 2009 was discussed at a recent AMEU Legal and Statutory Committee meeting due to its possible impact on the standard draft electricity supply bylaws document that has, for a number of years, been regularly updated and posted on the AMEU website.

The reason for this interest in the Court ruling was that it had related to a case in which electricity to a block of flats had been disconnected due to `substantial arrears’ by the landlord. Subsequently some of the residents of the flats (applicants) sought to have the electricity supply reconnected and an order declaring that they were entitled to procedural fairness in the form of notice and an opportunity to make representations to City Power before the electricity supply was terminated. The City of Johannesburg electricity supply bylaws were initially tested in a High Court action which dismissed the application on the basis that the applicants had failed to establish a prima facie right. The Constitutional Court however found in favour of the applicants who have a right to `administrative justice’ and procedural fairness. A section of the bylaws (by-law 14(1)) was found to be `.. clearly inconsistent with the procedural fairness requirements under section 3(2)(b) of PAJA, and is therefore also inconsistent with section 33(1) of the Constitution’ and was declared unconstitutional and therefore invalid by the Court.

A copy of the Constitutional Court (Case CCT 43/09 [2009] ZACC 30) judgment is available here for interested readers.

It was resolved by the AMEU Legal and Statutory Committee to suspend the process of updating a `standard draft electricity supply bylaws’ document. In its place, copies of recently updated city bylaws will be posted to the AMEU website for any municipality to make comparisons with their own bylaws and make any changes deemed necessary. A copy of the Cape Town Electricity Supply By-law, promulgated on 16 April 2010, which takes account of the Constitutional Court ruling (See Section 21 – Right to disconnect supply) is available here along with a copy of the Buffalo City Municipal Bylaws promulgated in the Provincial Gazette on 10 December 2009. Additional documents will be posted to this site as and when they become available.

Queries and comment may be addressed to Peter Fowles at pf15@mweb.co.za or 072 865 0558.