Eskom crackdown on solar users inconsistent and irrational, says OUTA

The Money Show's Stephen Grootes interviews power and energy expert Prof. Vally Padayachee and the CEO of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse, Wayne Duvenage.

Eskom is stepping up its campaign to get users of solar energy systems to register by March 2026.

Warnings are circulating that if you do have a solar installation you might be paying a high fixed charge to Eskom, even if your system is currently properly registered with Eskom or your local council.

The power utility said earlier it would use satellite imagery to identify unregistered Small-Scale Embedded Generation (SSEG) systems.

The plan for residential customers with PV solar installations requires the installation of a smart meter and then the registration with Eskom.

Stephen Grootes talks to power and energy expert Professor Vally Padayachee, a former executive manager at Eskom and former senior executive at City Power Johannesburg.

Prof. Padayachee says he expects the fee to be 'reasonable' and contextual in the sense that it will depend on how much power you use.

Being tied to the grid means you can feed extra electricity back into that national grid, but the grid also serves you as a back-up if you need more energy than your solar panels provide.

If you are completely off-grid, this fee will not apply to you, Padayachee emphasizes.

"It only applies if you are grid-tied - this means obviously that you're connected to the grid but also that, even if you don't generate, you are liable for these fees. There's a false perception among some that even if you're connected to the grid and you don't generate, you are off-grid but that's not so."

Prof. Vally Padayachee, Power & Energy Expert

For his part, OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage is frustrated with what he calls an inconsistent and irrational process.

"It's frustrating to have government incentivising the public to go off-grid and when you do so, they realise 'oops, this is now going to hurt our economic model and we need to charge you more if you're not completely off-grid but do have alternative electricity sources'."

Wayne Duvenage, CEO - Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse

"They're putting it just on solar and there's a lot of irrationality. Think if somebody has a solar system and you build a house next door that has, say gas stoves and geysers and you're not connected to a solar system but have reduced your electricity - you're not going to pay but you've ALSO taken away a lot of the use of Eskom's electricity."

Wayne Duvenage, CEO - Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse

Eskom needs to know that the public are getting frustrated with this inconsistency, Duvenage says.

He predicts that there won't be a big uptake with the registration process.

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the full conversation