The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it is preparing a formal complaint to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) over what it describes as a worsening electricity collapse in Tshwane, after weeks of repeated power outages and extended disruptions across multiple suburbs.

DA Tshwane mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink says the complaint will be filed under Section 32 of the Electricity Regulation Act, arguing that the metro is in breach of its licence conditions to provide a reliable supply of electricity. He says the submission will be supported by documented experiences from residents and DA councillors, aimed at securing an independent assessment of the city’s electricity network.

East Lynne has become central to the DA’s case, with Brink describing the outage there as the longest in recent memory. “Power has been off and on, but mostly off, since 26 December,” he says. He adds that the problem is not isolated, noting that outages across Tshwane began as early as November last year, pointing to deeper infrastructure decay rather than a once-off technical failure.

Brink argues that the crisis is as much financial as it is technical. He says Tshwane’s electricity problems are “budget-driven”, linking the deterioration of the grid to spending choices that prioritise emergency and outsourced services over routine maintenance and infrastructure investment.

He has previously pointed to what he calls misplaced priorities in the city’s adjustment budgets. In one such instance, Brink said the mayor tabled an adjustment budget proposing an additional R315 million for private security and so-called watchman services, while core infrastructure continued to deteriorate.

A similar pattern, he argues, is visible in other emergency spending. Water tanker expenditure has risen sharply from R140 million in 2023/24 to R777 million in the financial year ending June 2025, crowding out funds that could otherwise have been used for electricity and water maintenance.

The DA says new internal City of Tshwane documents deepen concerns about the city’s financial trajectory. According to Brink, the party has seen a memorandum proposing across-the-board expenditure cuts of between 5% and 10%, raising fears that already strained water and electricity budgets could be defunded further.

Those proposed cuts, he says, are linked to efforts to finance a backdated salary settlement promised to trade unions by   deputy mayor Eugene “Bonzo” Modise.

“The nation’s capital is in deep financial trouble,” Brink says, warning that unless budget priorities are urgently corrected, electricity and water services will continue to deteriorate, with residents paying the price for political and fiscal mismanagement.