Eskom wants South Africans with solar panels to pay more

South Africans who fail to register their grid-tied solar power installations face penalties or having their systems disconnected by Eskom. 

Solar users are also likely to incur an additional surcharge from Eskom and municipalities for the maintenance of the grid and distribution infrastructure. 

This is feedback from professor and energy expert Vally Padayachee, who outlined the utility’s plans to ensure South Africans register their solar installations with it. 

The utility has intensified its efforts in recent months to encourage households and companies to register their solar installations as part of its Small-Scale Embedded Generation (SSEG) programme. 

It is currently running a campaign to get electricity customers to register their small-scale embedded solar installations by March 2026. 

Eskom has previously said this is part of the government’s efforts to ensure compliance with national electricity regulations and maintain grid stability. 

All households and businesses with rooftop solar installations must register them, even if they don’t feed power into the grid.

The utility has warned South Africans that if their installations are not registered with the utility, they risk being deemed illegal, and customers will face penalties if the deadline is not met. 

As its efforts to enforce compliance have intensified, the utility has also threatened unregistered users with disconnection from the grid to ensure its stability. 

Padayachee explained to eNCA that solar users can expect to pay an additional surcharge, even if they are registered. 

“The fear that Eskom and municipalities may institute a surcharge on South African households with solar is not unfounded,” Padayachee said. 

“There will be a payment, and it will be for the upkeep of the grid and maintenance of distribution infrastructure by Eskom and municipalities.” 

The amount to be paid will vary across municipalities and Eskom, depending on what they deem necessary for investment in maintenance and infrastructure development. 

As part of its Retail Tariff Plan, Eskom has proposed significantly increasing network costs, including transmission, distribution, and transformer costs.

These network costs are currently recovered through variable (c/kWh) and fixed (R/kVA and R/Customer) charges.

Eskom wants to move to a tariff structure with significant fixed daily network charges independent of usage.

This means South African households and businesses would have to pay a much higher fixed charge, regardless of whether they use electricity.

This would lead to those with solar panels paying significantly more than before, as they would need to incur daily fixed costs to Eskom to remain connected to the grid.

Why additional charges are needed

Eskom has explained that its warnings of penalties and disconnection are necessary as it is vital for all connections to the grid to comply with the required codes, standards, and guidelines set by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa).

“Adhering to these technical standards is crucial for maintaining network security, ensuring the safety of field personnel, and protecting the public,” it said.

It said that with more solar installations pushing energy onto the grid, safety has become a critical focus for both performance and the staff working on it.

Padayachee explained that the national grid is owned by Eskom and the municipalities, who are responsible for its upkeep and development. 

“If you want to use it, to keep things simple, then Eskom and the municipalities will want to know who is coming onto the grid so it can be properly managed,” he said. 

“Secondly, when you connect small-scale generation up to one megawatt to the grid, even though it is very small, it impacts the safety and stability of the national grid beyond its point of connection.” 

These additional connections to the grid impact its performance, stability, and increase the burden placed on infrastructure, necessitating additional maintenance and investment. 

Eskom CFO Calib Cassim has previously explained why surcharges and penalties are necessary, even for users who want to go off-grid and only use the power utility as backup.

Cassim said that when a company, household, or municipality wants to dump Eskom, it has to do so permanently and not use the utility as a battery. 

If it wants to use Eskom’s grid as an effective battery, then additional charges should be levied to prevent these customers from getting a free benefit from using the infrastructure paid for by other users. 

“The only point we are making with regard to our Retail Tariff Plan is that when a customer says they are dumping Eskom, it must be 24/7/365,” Cassim said. 

“If you are going to use Eskom on a partial basis and you have to come back when the sun is down, there needs to be a cost and a charge for you to tap into Eskom as a battery.” 

“Otherwise, what will happen is that the consumers using the grid all the time are going to pay for the entire infrastructure costs of Eskom.” 

“Then those that come on to the grid on a partial basis will get a free benefit from the infrastructure investment funded by other customers.” 

“If you are going to use us as a battery, then you will need to pay for that.”