Just received from the City of Cape Town the announcement of new ruling for approval of solar systems going onto effect by 1. October 2023. The context is to simplify and accelerate the approval process before installation. This is positive and welcome.

However looking into details I found the following: https://www.capetown.gov.za/Family and home/Greener-living/Saving-electricity-at-home/going-solar

From October 2023 Standby systems, we call them Off grid systems, will no longer be allowed. That to me is hilarious. The simpler, safer because no back-feed into the grid, less problematic, less expensive systems shall be prohibited! It revolts me. What do Cape Town residents that plan to go solar think of it? I would like to see a shitstorm against it.

www.capetown.gov.za/solarpv

Edited September 9, 20232 yr by Beat

This will be one to watch, what remediation do the provide for all the installed non hybrid systems?

1 hour ago, mzezman said:

This will be one to watch, what remediation do the provide for all the installed non hybrid systems?

If they registered , they valid

The people who bought off-grid systems with the intention to add solar at a later stage (like me) now have a problem.... I specifically went for an off-grid system. It seemed illogical to me to buy an inverter almost twice the price if I had no intention to feed back to the grid. 

 

The people who bought off-grid systems with the intention to add solar at a later stage (like me) now have a problem.... I specifically went for an off-grid system. It seemed illogical to me to buy an inverter almost twice the price if I had no intention to feed back to the grid. 

Simply turn your inverter into an electrical appliance (UPS) They are exempt from the stupid rules according to the coct brochure. But still make sure you get a valid coc.

Register as off-grid. Split your DB with change over switches to progressively allow for switching more load to your off grid inverter. In summer you can run everything off the inverter and in winter just run the essentials.

 

Register as off-grid.

That is where the new rules are coming in for coct, they will NO LONGER accept off-grid registrations.

They are also saying anything connected to the house wiring falls under their rules 🤣 regardless of whether it is off-grid.

Simply convert the inverter to an electrical appliance and then do the rest as you suggested with changeover switches

It is going to be interesting when someone with some cash will legally challenge their rules and accompanying terminology interpretations in a court. Most people who use these smaller budget type systems will never have the cash or will to challenge the coct rules. So many will simply run their systems illegally. And that MANY is literally thousands if not tens of thousands of people/households around SA.

 

That is where the new rules are coming in for coct, they will NO LONGER accept off-grid registrations.

They are also saying anything connected to the house wiring falls under their rules 🤣 regardless of whether it is off-grid.

In that case CoCT should also collect all petrol an Diesel generators... and stick it where the sun doesn't shine.

Might start saying the Gene is Grid interactive... Honestly these ppl have really lost the plot.

So what is the ruling for someone that is truly off grid, i.e. has no grid connections or opts out of a grid connection  and tells the Dictatorship in Cape Town to remove their connection.

Once you do this you will be absolved from their rules. But the minute their grid supply is in your home I guess you will need to play under their rules...

Looking closely to that nice drawing from the CoCT ruling that I posted in my opening post, I notice that it contains a basic error: The change-over switch should be in front of the DB, not after it. One can therefor question the technical competence of the authors of that ruling.

 

Just received from the City of Cape Town the announcement of new ruling for approval of solar systems going onto effect by 1. October 2023. The context is to simplify and accelerate the approval process before installation. This is positive and welcome.

However looking into details I found the following: https://www.capetown.gov.za/Family and home/Greener-living/Saving-electricity-at-home/going-solar

From October 2023 Standby systems, we call them Off grid systems, will no longer be allowed. That to me is hilarious. The simpler, safer because no back-feed into the grid, less problematic, less expensive systems shall be prohibited! It revolts me. What do Cape Town residents that plan to go solar think of it? I would like to see a shitstorm against it.

www.capetown.gov.za/solarpv

I'm confused as to what they are actually outlawing here.

 

 

 

In Cape Town (municipality) if you have PV panels on your roof then you need to be registered, simple as that; this rule has been in place for many years. If you want to be "Off Grid" then they certainly will come and disconnect your incoming grid line🤣

 

Get registered with the correct solar equipment in place then no problems.

 

if you have PV panels on your roof then you need to be registered,

I am yet to find that law or by-law, I have searched and cannot find it anywhere. Please point us in the right direction where it is gazetted.

 

I am yet to find that law or by-law, I have searched and cannot find it anywhere. Please point us in the right direction where it is gazetted.

This is the closest I get to any law written/gazetted.

https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/Procedures, guidelines and regulations/Requirements for Small-Scale Embedded Generation.pdf

Specifically referring to page 17

Important Notices
Compliance with the Law
Electricity Regulation Act 4 of 2006 (ERA) and associated Regulations, South African
Grid Codes and the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 (OHS) are core
legislation.
The City’s Electricity Supply By-law, 2010 states that no electricity generation
equipment provided by a consumer in terms of any Regulations or for his own
operational requirements shall be connected to any installation without the prior
written consent of the Director of the EGD.
It is explicitly emphasised that any type of SSEG installation which has been issued only
with a Certificate of Compliance (CoC), is not authorised to connect to the City’s
distribution network. Failure to obtain this consent constitutes an offence, which could
lead to a service fee and/or disconnection of supply to premises and/or imprisonment
in terms of the City’s Electricity Supply By-law.
Furthermore, the Electricity Installation Regulations (EIR) of the OHS states that it is the
property owner who carries the responsibility for the safety of the electrical installation
on the property. This includes the SSEG installation on the property. Therefore, the SSEG
installation may be in contravention of the OHS, in which case punitive sanctions
apply.
Customers who wish to legally install SSEG will be required to follow the application
procedure as detailed in these Requirements. No exemptions from these
Requirements will be granted for retrospective applications. Retrospective
compliance will be required for existing installations whenever the applicable
legislation/regulations (e.g. ERA, OHS, South African Grid Codes, etc.), standards (e.g.
SANS) and specifications (e.g. NRS) are amended or when quality of supply and/or
safety requirements must be improved.

The further on page 19 They generalise quite a bit with their wording. Surely with something as technical as power/solar generation we would expect the terminology to be precise. They most likely deliberately do this in the hope that it will be a while before they get challenged.

See highlighted and underlined bits from page 19

The parallel connection of any generator to the distribution network has numerous
implications for the local electricity distributor. The most pressing is the safety of the
utility staff, the public and the user of the generator. There is therefore a strong need
for such practice to be regulated for the general benefit and protection of citizens as
well as the operation and control of the distribution network. Consequently, the City’s
Electricity Supply By-law requires that no electricity generation equipment shall be
connected to any installation without prior written consent from the Director of the
EGD. The City has therefore developed this comprehensive Requirements document,
which details the application and authorisation process for connecting SSEG to the
City’s distribution network.

My laymens interpretation is that as long as I am physically/electrically separated from the distribution network AND have an electrically compliant installation then I am good to go and do NOT need their permission.
No mention of solar panels anywhere in their gazetted/published laws/by-laws. That part I am still trying to find.

I am sure most people will agree with this statement. Convince me otherwise

1.8 SSEG Decommissioning and Illegal Installations
The City requires notice of any SSEG system which has been decommissioned. An
SSEG system which has been decommissioned must be disconnected from the
distribution network (at the customer’s cost) by the removal of wiring which connects
the inverter/s to the network and all the PV panels. Customers who intend on
decommissioning their SSEG systems have the following options:
a) Customer removes generation source i.e. solar PV panels
I. Customer must provide a CoC which indicates that the system has been
disconnected and removed.
II. Compulsory installation of a split prepayment meter (PPM) at the City’s cost
and the customer to be placed on the appropriate tariff.
III. The customer may opt for the installation of an advanced metering
infrastructure (AMI) meter (at the customer’s cost) and customer to be placed
on the appropriate tariff.
b) Customer keeps generation source i.e. solar PV panels, on the roof
I. Customer must provide a CoC which indicates that the system has been
disconnected.
II. Customer relinquishes the option for a PPM by not removing the panels.
III. Customer is charged for a compulsory AMI meter and placed on the
appropriate tariff.

 

Seems like COCT is going full-on Aussie nanny state mode...🤣

I try to boil down all the above: The City is concerned with the influence grid-tied systems may have on their distribution grid. This concern is understandable. However they cannot prevent or prohibit anybody to implement his own electric island with whatever generation means he chooses, as long as it complies with the official safety rules and standards. They may require a COC in this respect. I like to classify solar Off-grid systems as island systems since they are operated basically that way. Only in need of battery charging from grid in so called line mode they become a simple consumer like everybody else. No need for special metering.

As a matter of fact load shedding obliges us to go island in order to have electricity, be it with a simple UPS or with a more complex solar system.

I find some of above cited ruling texts contradictory.

Edited September 20, 20232 yr by Beat

Seems like this could be a good case for OUTA to look at 🙂

The struggle is real - my business, restaurant, can not survive loadshedding - 23 jobs on the line - I installed a 50kw silent generator replacing a small 7kw generator that has been in use since the inception of loadshedding but could not cope when it became more severe. Made a 180k loan for generator and installation cost R54k - Had to place the generator on a outside deck that I rent from the municipality since the body corporate would not allow it on their premises - Was served with a disconnection letter by COCT threatening to cut power to the whole building if I do not comply and register - although it is not embedded, still followed suit and done the registration - believe I am in for a long wait, which I can not afford.