October 26, 20232 yr Hi All, I had solar installed in June with PV. System works great and per the Sunsynk app, my load from Eskom halved as expected. The issue is, my first Eskom bill post installation actually increased as according to Eskom, it was an estimation. I have a smart meter and they read remotely. I am also a direct Eskom customer. Queried the bill, Eskom corrected it and credited my account. Same issue end of September, bill is the highest it has ever been, eve higher than my peak winter usage. Queried again and was informed another estimate. Was also informed that with the constant load shedding, this has been impacting the smart meters:). Below is an extract from someone at Eskom with some questions. They now want me to register my system... What does this mean? They want me to register my system? Is that a requirement by law? This system is for home use with NIL export. I checked my meter reading myself and the KW reading is slightly lower than their estimate at the end of September, ha ha ha. I have sent through the pictures f my meter to their billing team to adjust my account accordingly. Seems to me they are trying every trick to extort cash from customers... Any one else experiencing similar issues? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks Indhran I coordinate the Gauteng SSEG Applications, Registrations and Approvals. I do not have record that this Small Scale Embedded Generator was applied for, Registered or Approved. Apart from being Unauthorised, a number of possible challenges comes to the for i.e; Is the SSEG Grid-tied i.e. able to reverse feed? Is the Meter programmed to deal with such reverse flow of energy and able to log the Import & Export Separately Is there a Inverter Certificate stating that the Inverter complies? Did the Installer ensure that the Inverter functionally was enabled and complies to our requirements? Was an EGI (Inspection Report by a Pr Eng) Issued? The attached need to be submitted, and the website links below can be followed for more information. PS: The CIU must be plugged into a plug that is not on the solar connection, that is maybe why the readings are inconsistent.
October 26, 20232 yr 7 minutes ago, Indhran said: Hi All, I had solar installed in June with PV. System works great and per the Sunsynk app, my load from Eskom halved as expected. The issue is, my first Eskom bill post installation actually increased as according to Eskom, it was an estimation. I have a smart meter and they read remotely. I am also a direct Eskom customer. Queried the bill, Eskom corrected it and credited my account. Same issue end of September, bill is the highest it has ever been, eve higher than my peak winter usage. Queried again and was informed another estimate. Was also informed that with the constant load shedding, this has been impacting the smart meters:). Below is an extract from someone at Eskom with some questions. They now want me to register my system... What does this mean? They want me to register my system? Is that a requirement by law? This system is for home use with NIL export. I checked my meter reading myself and the KW reading is slightly lower than their estimate at the end of September, ha ha ha. I have sent through the pictures f my meter to their billing team to adjust my account accordingly. Seems to me they are trying every trick to extort cash from customers... Any one else experiencing similar issues? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks Indhran I coordinate the Gauteng SSEG Applications, Registrations and Approvals. I do not have record that this Small Scale Embedded Generator was applied for, Registered or Approved. Apart from being Unauthorised, a number of possible challenges comes to the for i.e; Is the SSEG Grid-tied i.e. able to reverse feed? Is the Meter programmed to deal with such reverse flow of energy and able to log the Import & Export Separately Is there a Inverter Certificate stating that the Inverter complies? Did the Installer ensure that the Inverter functionally was enabled and complies to our requirements? Was an EGI (Inspection Report by a Pr Eng) Issued? The attached need to be submitted, and the website links below can be followed for more information. PS: The CIU must be plugged into a plug that is not on the solar connection, that is maybe why the readings are inconsistent. They are trying new tricks. It us estimated by 2025 renewable will produce the same power as Eskom does. Major cash cow is drying up and can never be replaced. They and munics are bleeding to death and all in their own making. We have seen it in other sectors. Once wheeling takes off they will even suffer more.
October 26, 20232 yr 28 minutes ago, Indhran said: Hi All, I had solar installed in June with PV. System works great and per the Sunsynk app, my load from Eskom halved as expected. The issue is, my first Eskom bill post installation actually increased as according to Eskom, it was an estimation. I have a smart meter and they read remotely. I am also a direct Eskom customer. Queried the bill, Eskom corrected it and credited my account. Same issue end of September, bill is the highest it has ever been, eve higher than my peak winter usage. Queried again and was informed another estimate. Was also informed that with the constant load shedding, this has been impacting the smart meters:). Below is an extract from someone at Eskom with some questions. They now want me to register my system... What does this mean? They want me to register my system? Is that a requirement by law? This system is for home use with NIL export. I checked my meter reading myself and the KW reading is slightly lower than their estimate at the end of September, ha ha ha. I have sent through the pictures f my meter to their billing team to adjust my account accordingly. Seems to me they are trying every trick to extort cash from customers... Any one else experiencing similar issues? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks Indhran I coordinate the Gauteng SSEG Applications, Registrations and Approvals. I do not have record that this Small Scale Embedded Generator was applied for, Registered or Approved. Apart from being Unauthorised, a number of possible challenges comes to the for i.e; Is the SSEG Grid-tied i.e. able to reverse feed? Is the Meter programmed to deal with such reverse flow of energy and able to log the Import & Export Separately Is there a Inverter Certificate stating that the Inverter complies? Did the Installer ensure that the Inverter functionally was enabled and complies to our requirements? Was an EGI (Inspection Report by a Pr Eng) Issued? The attached need to be submitted, and the website links below can be followed for more information. PS: The CIU must be plugged into a plug that is not on the solar connection, that is maybe why the readings are inconsistent. I don't think you have a fight with Eskom that you can win. I would be concerned about costs. Here in Johannesburg there is a reseller's tariff available to those of us with home solar, but the home owner has to bear all the costs, including paying for a new meter. Couple that with the low buy back tariff, and the requirement that you must be a net consumer (IE can't sell back more than you consume) and I can't even break even on the deal. Eskom's offering might be more reasonable. My own opinion is that Eskom/City Power/whoever have a legitimate interest in systems that retain a connection to their grid. If we sever ourselves from the grid then they have no interest, but we can't fall back on the grid. I wish that installers would be more up front about the registration requirements, because I would want to include that in my total cost for the project. As it is home owners are often left exposed, but I would think that in law the responsibility for compliance with regulations ultimately lies with us.
October 26, 20232 yr 13 minutes ago, Bobster. said: My own opinion is that Eskom/City Power/whoever have a legitimate interest in systems that retain a connection to their grid. If we sever ourselves from the grid then they have no interest, but we can't fall back on the grid. I wish that installers would be more up front about the registration requirements, because I would want to include that in my total cost for the project. As it is home owners are often left exposed, but I would think that in law the responsibility for compliance with regulations ultimately lies with us. To be fair, here in the City of Johannesburg, if there are regulations and processes then the City is keeping them very well hidden. Even if you ask the question directly you likely won't get an enlightening response. I've asked two different elected representatives what I should do and they just shrug. So it's hard to get that information. Compare to COCT where one might not agree with the City's policy, but at least you know that there is one.
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