Pay up or get cut off? – Eskom’s R50K solar rules shake SA homeowners

Solar

Cape Town – Eskom is restructuring its electricity tariffs, requiring residential solar users to install smart meters and register their systems at their own expense, with costs ranging from R20,000 to R50,000.

The deadline for compliance is 31 March 2026 — after which non-compliant users may face penalties or disconnection.

In addition, Eskom is set to increase electricity prices by 12.74% for the 2025/26 financial year. The utility has also introduced new tariffs, including the Homeflex time-of-use (TOU) tariff for solar users.

The compliance process includes expenses such as meter installation, engineering approvals, and connection fees.

Energy analyst Chris Yelland warns that many existing solar installations are already non-compliant, comparing the situation to the failed e-toll system, according to Daily Investor.

“There are going to be significant costs for customers as they register their systems with Eskom,” the report quoted him as saying.

“The reality is that Eskom requires you to have permission from them as the network provider before you connect a solar PV and battery energy storage system to their network.

“Now, in the past, they have not been in a position to enforce this.”

Eskom previously did not require small home solar systems to be registered, but Cape Town-based installer AWPower claims the utility quietly added a checkbox to its application forms to enforce this, MyBroadband reported.

Professional engineer’s sign-off 

Greenway Solar director Richard Douglas criticised the new requirements as excessive, arguing that even small installations now need engineering approvals, drawings, and professional certification.

“It does feel like we’re using a sledgehammer to crack a hazelnut,” he told Carte Blanche, according to the report.

“You need a professional engineer’s sign-off on a small installation, you need engineering drawings.

“We need to prepare single-line diagrams, some people would require a new certificate of compliance.”

According to Daily Maverick, critics argue that the new compliance fees are irrational and may push more solar users to go completely off-grid, further shrinking Eskom’s customer base and long-term revenue.

“Eskom should choose to determine what its real aim should be. And it should first be to ensure richer people stay on the national grid willingly. And second, to get as much money from them as possible through actually providing a service.

“The current plan is unlikely to work and it will simply result in more people leaving Eskom permanently,” the report said.

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