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Eskom threatens to cut off people with solar panels in So...

A seasoned energy analyst argues that Eskom and municipalities are not legally entitled to force households with rooftop solar power systems to register them — nor cut them off if they don’t.

1 hour ago, Bobster. said:

This is one of the drivers of the activity we are seeing from City Power. They were unhappy with COJ's billing and meter reading, so they are taking that back in house.

And that has actually been a good thing. The problem has always been COJ it seems. Ever since they took over the meter reading I have gotten actual readings. Under COJ it was always estimated and would get atrocious bills which is what pushed me towards going off-grid in the first place.

And guess who has helped me the most with the off-grid application? Citipower, not COJ. COJ were clueless.

The only reason I registered my system with CP is that I'm planning to sell back one day in future. Other than that, I don't see why anyone will register. I have not received any letter to say they are planning to take away my pre-paid meter and convert me back to Post paid. I wonder if they will refund my cost of getting the pre-paid meter

If Eksdom threaten to cut people with solar from the grid, mission accomplished - no need to ask them to disconnect you - lol 😃

On 2026/01/18 at 1:15 PM, Denns said:

ou need to register by March this year or some penalties will be issued etc.

Eskom are waiving their registration fees and the cost of a new meter until end March.

4 hours ago, Denns said:

And that has actually been a good thing. The problem has always been COJ it seems.

Yeah. When I've dealt directly with City Power they've been helpful. I remember my meter failing one morning when power was restored. 2 hours after I left the City Power depot in Randburg there was a guy at my house to restore power.

15 hours ago, Demo said:

If Eksdom threaten to cut people with solar from the grid, mission accomplished - no need to ask them to disconnect you - lol 😃

What they're saying is that if you have any form of SSEG that is unregistered or that doesn't meet all the safety codes, then they will disconnect.

This is a problem. I have PV, but not every now and then I take a sip from the grid. If they cut me off then can I survive?

More pointedly, if I think I can survive without grid power then why am I still connected to the grid? I don't think we should be too blasé about this message.

This is why I'm following this conversation: We have a guy who has gradually got himself into a situation where he's very sure he can survive without the grid, has done that analysis, and now he's going to legally disconnect. I don't think there are a lot of folks who have done that, and fewer who are documenting the process so that we can see how it's done.

My take on this subject, after reading through the link I shared. Schedule 2 of Electricity regulation Act says that installation less than 100kw are exempted from registration. Meaning it is not compulsory for house holds to register, not sure if there is any house hold with over 100kw of solar install. Eskom or Municipality, have no mandate behind the meter on the customer's premises. There is no statutory requirements for solar system with capacity under 100kw to register with any distributor, CP, COJ included. So! People, if you have a letter from CP/COJ saying they are going to convert you to post paid, call it a bluff and just ignore them.

Edited January 21Jan 21 by hoohloc

On 2026/01/15 at 3:16 PM, Denns said:

That kind of sucks. So if you change anything on the solar installation you have to register again?

I've just been checking my correspondence with the company who handled the registration for me. Now this is not City Power regulations I am quoting, but a guy who works with CP a lot. "if you decide to change your inverter in terms of size or brand, then we would need to submit a new application. This is because the current approved system is based on the specifications of the inverter that is currently installed. However, if you're only planning to add more panels without changing the inverter, then there's no need for any revised application."

A change of inverter means that you need to re-register. So it's not all and any change to the system.

1 hour ago, hoohloc said:

My take on this subject, after reading through the link I shared. Schedule 2 of Electricity regulation Act says that installation less than 100kw are exempted from registration. Meaning it is not compulsory for house holds to register, not sure if there is any house hold with over 100kw of solar install. Eskom or Municipality, have no mandate behind the meter on the customer's premises. There is no statutory requirements for solar system with capacity under 100kw to register with any distributor, CP, COJ included. So! People, if you have a letter from CP/COJ saying they are going to convert you to post paid, call it a bluff and just ignore them.

OUTA recommends following the municipal bylaws for your own area. They only dealt with Eskom direct, not COJ or CP.

11 minutes ago, OceanWanderer said:

OUTA recommends following the municipal bylaws for your own area. They only dealt with Eskom direct, not COJ or CP.

Yes, I saw this too and have often wondered around the legality of all of these requirements.

I think Bobster nailed it, their network their rules.

Just now, OceanWanderer said:

Yes, I saw this too and have often wondered around the legality of all of these requirements.

I think Bobster nailed it, their network their rules.

Correct, their network their rules. My house my rules, their network ends at my meter and everything past that meter, my rules. :-)

21 minutes ago, OceanWanderer said:

Yes, I saw this too and have often wondered around the legality of all of these requirements.

I think Bobster nailed it, their network their rules.

I don't think I said that in that many words, but it seems to me that if I have a system that can generate AC and supply circuits in my home, which is connected to the grid, then whoever supplies me has a legitimate interest in that. I can't quote regulations, but how can it be otherwise? The obvious example would be (as happened in my street yesterday) that they cut the power to protect workers. Now I have a system that is generating 230V AC and, potentially, can send that back to the grid. There are probably 10 other houses in my street with such systems. Now how can that be none of City Power's business?

Hi Bobster

Quite correct... I did apply some poetic licence! 😉

1 hour ago, hoohloc said:

Sure but if they switch you to postpaid without you knowing are you going to take them to court? Have the money to fund the court battle? Because it is happening to people now as we speak where they are being converted to postpaid without being told.

Edited January 21Jan 21 by Denns

17 minutes ago, OceanWanderer said:

Quite correct... I did apply some poetic licence! 😉

Oh I think somebody did say that, but it's too concise for me.

22 minutes ago, Bobster. said:

I don't think I said that in that many words, but it seems to me that if I have a system that can generate AC and supply circuits in my home, which is connected to the grid, then whoever supplies me has a legitimate interest in that. I can't quote regulations, but how can it be otherwise? The obvious example would be (as happened in my street yesterday) that they cut the power to protect workers. Now I have a system that is generating 230V AC and, potentially, can send that back to the grid. There are probably 10 other houses in my street with such systems. Now how can that be none of City Power's business?

From a practical point of view, it is not possible to supply past your meter for over a second. Your inverter is far to small and will just trip immediately if such a thing happened to occur. But I do agree that it does need to be managed to some extent.

And no, not just your specific inverter. Even the guy with a 20kW inverter will trip. If all 10 of the inverters in the area do the same, almost all of them will probably blow their capacitors etc as they wont be in sync with each other.

Edited January 21Jan 21 by Denns

6 minutes ago, Denns said:

And no, not just your specific inverter. Even the guy with a 20kW inverter will trip. If all 10 of the inverters in the area do the same, almost all of them will probably blow their capacitors etc as they wont be in sync with each other.

Thanks. I was wondering about that one.

33 minutes ago, Bobster. said:

I don't think I said that in that many words, but it seems to me that if I have a system that can generate AC and supply circuits in my home, which is connected to the grid, then whoever supplies me has a legitimate interest in that. I can't quote regulations, but how can it be otherwise? The obvious example would be (as happened in my street yesterday) that they cut the power to protect workers. Now I have a system that is generating 230V AC and, potentially, can send that back to the grid. There are probably 10 other houses in my street with such systems. Now how can that be none of City Power's business?

How my inverter works is that when there is no grid, it automatically turns into the backup system (EPS) and stop pushing back to the grid or non-essentials. It will give a warning that there is no grid. It is impossible for 12kw inverter to push back to the grid when the grid drops. Even if for some miracle lets say it can, it will immediately trip with over load as it will not be able to supply all the houses on my street. So, technically and logically, I do not see any risk to any technician working on the grid when the grid is properly isolated. I have a feeling that all Hybrid inverters works the same. There has to be a grid in order to push back supply to the grid,

17 minutes ago, Denns said:

From a practical point of view, it is not possible to supply past your meter for over a second. Your inverter is far to small and will just trip immediately if such a thing happened to occur. But I do agree that it does need to be managed to some extent.

And no, not just your specific inverter. Even the guy with a 20kW inverter will trip. If all 10 of the inverters in the area do the same, almost all of them will probably blow their capacitors etc as they wont be in sync with each other.

You beat me to this point of over loading the inverter

Edited January 21Jan 21 by hoohloc

23 minutes ago, Denns said:

Sure but if they switch you to postpaid without you knowing are you going to take them to court? Have the money to fund the court battle? Because it is happening to people now as we speak where they are being converted to postpaid without being told.

I guess I will cross that bridge when I get there. All I can say is that register if you want, not because you are being threatened. My rental property is not registered and I will not register because I do not have to and no one can tell me otherwise. My home is registered and still waiting for the day they convert me back to post paid, then will deal with the issue accordingly.

28 minutes ago, Denns said:

From a practical point of view, it is not possible to supply past your meter for over a second. Your inverter is far to small and will just trip immediately if such a thing happened to occur.

This is interesting. But why then is there discussion about being able to resell? To do that, my inverter has to be able to push back past the meter. Or are you talking about the specific situation that I mentioned where there is no voltage from the utility?

4 minutes ago, Bobster. said:

This is interesting. But why then is there discussion about being able to resell? To do that, my inverter has to be able to push back past the meter. Or are you talking about the specific situation that I mentioned where there is no voltage from the utility?

It can push back past your meter only when you have grid connection. Isolate or switch off the grid, then it will not be able to push back. You need to have utility frequency and Voltage to be able to push back

2 minutes ago, hoohloc said:

It can push back past your meter only when you have grid connection. Isolate or switch off the grid, then it will not be able to push back. You need to have utility frequency and Voltage to be able to push back

Basically, it needs to sync with the grid.