Important information about Eskom solar crackdown

Eskom has outlined the process that its customers must follow to register their small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) system, which must be completed by 31 March 2026.

The power utility said in a statement that it has launched a campaign to help residential SSEG owners comply with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa) regulations.

These customers can begin the process by emailing [email protected] with #Applications in the subject line.

For reference, those living in Gauteng must email [email protected], while those in KwaZulu-Natal must email [email protected].

“A quote for a bi-directional meter will be sent in response only for users greater than 50kVA,” said Eskom.

The next step will be to make payment and schedule installation. Once payment is made, Eskom technicians will install and code the smart meter, and the household will be shifted to the Homeflex tariff.

It noted that residential customers with less than 50kVA are exempt from paying until 31 March 2026.

Thereafter, Eskom will provide estimated monthly bills and postpaid deposit options, including paying the deposit over 12 months.

“For residential systems up to 50kVA, a deposit can vary from R3,500 to R4,800 if no deposit has already been paid on the account in the past,” said Eskom.

To comply with Nersa’s regulations, non-Eskom-supplied customers must register their SSEG systems with their local municipality.

Eskom said it was holding off from enforcing the registration for households under 50kVA until 31 March 2026.

In an apparent response to complaints from blindsided consumers about the costs of registration, Eskom said the average household with solar power backup installed will save over R9,000 between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026.

“Since March 2023, Eskom has not charged households with solar photovoltaic installations of up to 50kVA for registration fees, installation and sign off and for the smart meter,” it says.

“In fact, these customers have been exempted from connection charges and tariff conversion fees, which typically cover costs such as quotations, physical connections, and meter installations.”

“These exemptions will remain in place for eligible households until March 2026, including those who have not yet installed PV systems,” Eskom added.

The power utility has also decided to continue with last year’s fixed connection charges for SSEGs to “ensure ongoing cost savings”.

“To highlight these savings, from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, households with SSEG systems rated at 16kVA — the typical size for most PV installations — attract zero fees and could save up to R9,132 due to Eskom’s exemption from connection fees,” said Eskom.

It added that customers will be credited for exporting energy to the Eskom grid under the Nersa-approved Homeflex tariff in addition to the savings.

However, the power utility skipped over the fact that a sign-off from a qualified electrical engineer is required and can be costly.

A dispute over this requirement has been playing out between Eskom and the applicable professional representative bodies.

The power utility and several municipalities argue that electricians aren’t qualified to approve the DC wiring of grid-tied systems running between the inverter, solar panels, and batteries.

They say electricians are only qualified to issue certificates of compliance (CoCs) for the AC portion between the inverter and the distribution board.

According to their interpretation of the grid codes, only electrical engineers registered with the Engineering Council of South Africa (Ecsa) can approve the DC side.

However, the Electrical Contractors Association disagrees, and national technical advisor Grant Seeman told MyBroadband that the association strongly opposes this interpretation.

According to Seeman, an Installation Electrician is allowed to work on any installation except for specialised hazardous locations.

“Similarly, a Master Installation Electrician (MIE) is permitted to work on any installation, covering AC voltages up to 1,000 volts and DC installations up to 1,500 volts,” he said.

“There is little to no need for electrical engineers [in the SSEG approval process].”

Seeman said getting an engineer to test and approve an SSEG system is expensive and varies based on location. He said the cost typically ranged from “several thousand to tens of thousands of rand”.