South Africans with rooftop solar systems do not have to register them with Eskom by law, as long as they hold a valid Certificate of Compliance. This is according to energy expert Chris Yelland.
Yelland gave the advice in an interview with Wayne Duvenage, the CEO of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA). The two spoke about Eskom’s solar registration rules ahead of the 30 September deadline for the registration fee waiver, Daily Investor reported.
“If you have a valid CoC that is proof of technical compliance, as well as safety compliance, you’ve done what you have to do in terms of the law,” Yelland said.
“There’s no reason why you should not register if you want to register and pay the costs. But I don’t think one has to, provided one has a CoC,” he added.
Eskom has said that people with small-scale energy generation systems, including solar, must register them with the power utility. It gave two reasons for this rule.
The first reason, according to Eskom, is to make sure these systems are safe and do not feed power dangerously back into the grid. The second is so Eskom can know how much solar is installed in the country. The utility said it would use this information for future planning.
Eskom had earlier said that people registering solar systems needed sign-off from a professional registered with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA). Yelland said this was not needed. He called it an overreach of Eskom’s authority, because this sign-off can be very expensive.
“There is another sign-off process by a registered installation electrician, who issues a so-called Certificate of Compliance,” Yelland said. He said it covers the electrical work on the customer’s side, including solar panels and batteries.
A CoC is issued under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The law requires it to prove that a home’s electrical system is safe. Homeowners who sell or transfer a house must also show a CoC before the transfer can be finalised.
Eskom dropped the ECSA sign-off rule in October last year. It now asks for a valid CoC, an inverter test certificate and a basic installation test report.
Eskom has kept saying that registration is needed for grid safety. Yelland called this argument a “red herring”. He said systems with a CoC that follow the national wiring standard, SANS 10142, cannot feed power back into the grid.
“Even if your system failed, or even if you had a non-compliant system that did backfeed into the network, is there a danger to Eskom personnel? I would argue no,” Yelland said.
“Municipalities and Eskom have standard operating procedures. Before their staff work on their network, they have to first isolate, lock out, measure, and then earth,” he said. Yelland said that if staff follow these steps, a faulty system would not put them in danger.
Eskom had earlier threatened to fine or cut off people who did not register their solar systems. It has since backed down on both points.
Yelland said Eskom would have the right to cut off systems found to be unsafe. But he said the utility would first need to prove that the system’s CoC was not valid or not lawfully issued.
Eskom has extended its solar registration fee waiver beyond the 30 September deadline. Eligible systems of up to 50 kVA will not be charged. The waiver now runs until further notice, with no new end date given. It only applies to customers supplied directly by Eskom.
Source: this article is based on reporting by Daily Investor. Image: Daily Investor. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Business desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Anelisa Nkuna covers business and money news for Tzaneen Voice. Anelisa reports on the rand, fuel prices, interest rates, jobs, Eskom, Transnet, farming and company results. The aim is simple: explain what the numbers mean for household budgets, small businesses and workers in South Africa.