The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has confirmed the approval of a two-year Negotiated Pricing Agreement (NPA) between Eskom and Mpumalanga-based Manganese Metal Company (MMC).
The approval was granted by the Energy Regulator, Nersa’s highest decision-making body, on July 30, following a public comment period, with the regulator concluding that the agreement was in line with the Department of Electricity and Energy’s amended short-term framework for NPAs.
The agreement, Nersa said in a statement, applied to MMC’s production of high-quality, selenium-free electrolytic manganese metal in Mbombela, where electricity accounted for about 41% of total production costs.
The NPA would be implemented from August 1, 2026, to July 31, 2028. The two-year duration was designed to cover the period ahead of the implementation of a renewable-energy power purchase agreement that MMC has concluded to meet 70% of its consumption.
Under the NPA, the Energy Regulator has approved a “special base tariff”, which would escalate yearly on April 1 by the producer price index plus 1%.
