Houses with solar panels on their roofs in Johannesburg. Picture: Michel Bega / The Citizen The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has reiterated the registration requirements for solar installations after a civil society group called disconnection threats “impractical, irrational, and unfair”. Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) is digging its heels in against government entities that wish to force homeowners to register their solar installation.
Outa stated that as long as the safety compliance issues associated with solar installations were addressed by homeowners, then registering with a government entity was unnecessary. However, Nersa states that the purpose of the registrations was to safeguard “the integrity of the electricity network and the interests of all electricity users”. Nersa responded on Monday to astatement released by Outa last weekwhere the civil society group argued against government interference.
The argumentcentres onsmall-scale embedded generation systems (SSEG), which are the most common solar photovoltaic (PV) installationsin residential households. centres onsmall-scale embedded generation systems (SSEG), which are the most common solar photovoltaic (PV) installations Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage stated that“shifting and unclear” messaging from government entities was creating confusion for the solar industry. He said that the situation was delaying solar installation projects and creating hesitation in the institutions assisting with finance and insurance “What is at stake here are the rights of citizens who have gone to significant personal expense to protect themselves against years of escalating electricity prices and an unreliable power supply.
Read Full Article on The Citizen
[paywall]
“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,” said Duvenage. However, he stressed that contractual agreements and electrical safety standards must be maintained, including an electrical certificate of compliance (CoC) issued by an electrician certified by the Department of Labour.
[/paywall]
