Eskom’s requirement that all solar photovoltaic (PV) systems under 100 kilovolt-amperes (kVA) must be registered will deter homeowners from choosing renewable energy.
This is according to civic body the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA).
Eskom has been encouraging those who make use of renewable energy from the sun to either register the units with it or municipalities, with R10 000 in assistance to cover registration and connection fees as well as a free smart meter.
The power utility’s sweetener is valid until the end of March. Those who do not register their solar PV solutions face disconnection and could potentially be fined.
Yet, OUTA lawyer and executive director Stephanie Fick says her view “is that this attitude will force more people off the grid, which will mean even less money for Eskom and municipalities”.
This follows OUTA issuing a statement in which it says that residents with solar PV systems “should not rush to register their installations with Eskom and municipalities – for now”.
Eskom was asked on 29 January to provide comment on OUTA’s statement and has failed to do so.
The state-owned electricity provider’s rules affect homeowners who have installed small-scale embedded generation, which generate less than 100kW of real power – equivalent to about 125kVA in capacity.
Eskom says most residential systems are under 50kVA. A 50kVA system is typically sufficient to power a farmhouse with pumps and refrigeration, or a small office park unit, with enough capacity to run multiple appliances at the same time.
E-toll déjà vu
Independent energy expert Chris Yelland notes there are about 40 000 unregistered residential installations on Eskom’s grid, with a likely similar number on municipal structures.
However, Yelland says fewer than 10% of affected households or small businesses have registered or are likely to do so by the end of March because the mandate is seen as needlessly costly.
Because of the cost associated with registering units, Yelland believes that households will not comply with Eskom’s demands and its outreach programme will fail. Yelland, along with AfriForum and OUTA, argue that Eskom has no legal standing to enforce its position.
“People are resisting. And, you know, if the public resists, as in e-tolls, the whole system will collapse,” says Yelland.
“These developments echo similar irrationality and administrative challenges we saw unfolding during the e-toll debacle,” OUTA says.
No legal authority
The non-profit civil action organisation is also challenging Eskom’s legal authority to regulate what happens “behind the meter” – a homeowner’s private electrical installations from the distribution board (commonly called the DB board) that contains circuit breakers for circuits providing power to plug points and lights.
“OUTA’s position is clear. What a homeowner does behind the meter on their own property – to reduce reliance on an unstable and expensive electricity supplier – is of no real business to the supplier [Eskom], provided the installation is safe and compliant in terms of national legislation,” says OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage.
Duvenage says that “aside from clear indications that the utility and several municipalities’ plans in this regard are lacking in public acceptance and feasible application thereof, it appears there may also be significant legal stumbling blocks, which OUTA’s team is finalising with its legal counsel”.
AfriForum has also taken Eskom to task over whether the utility has the power to enforce its mandatory registration drive.
On its website, Eskom says that, in accordance with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa regulations, businesses and households with embedded generation systems of less than 100kVA (including solar PV systems) are required to register with Eskom, even if they do not export power to the grid.
Fully off-grid systems do not need to be registered if they operate independently from Eskom’s supply.
Currently, installations are regulated by the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1993, specifically through the Electrical Installation Regulations, and need to be certified as complying with all mandatory safety standards, regulations and wiring codes.
“This means that if your solar installation has a valid CoC [certificate of compliance], which addresses the safety concerns that are often cited by the utility and municipalities, you are doing what is required of you,” says Duvenage.
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