CoCT are more organised than the other munics in SA.

The problem is that you can't simply let systems feed power back to the grid whenever they like. The nature of solar PV power is that all systems will feed back into the grid at the same time when conditions are right. This can cause the grid to become unstable due to this oversupply. (Electricity has to go somewhere..)

What I find frustrating is that I'm not able to know what the real story is with all their red tape.

It would be great if someone on the inside could share what they know on a forum like this.

I just realized this morning how viable my solar installation is. We had no Eskom power since early morning hours and my son is now busy writing finals today online started 9 till 12. Thanks to my battery and my solar system my son can proceed without the extra stress that Eskom is causing other students. Luckily these load shedding sprees that Eskom has been handing out did not have much power over my solar system to cause us much inconvenience. 

I got my first taste of an inverter connected in my workshop ... and it didnt look good.

I having been looking into ways to remotely monitor old meccer and RCT inverters on some of the sites I look after ... but never really felt the need to waste the money.

I had an RCT unit repaired (it took a while to find someone) ... decided to hook it up in the workshop ... and test it ... it worked ... I linked the laptop and used watch power to check a few things ... then got smart and bought solar assistant.

They say if you can monitor it you can manage it ... suddenly you realize ... you have to put the energy back into the battery ... every time I flicked 1 -2 or 3 switches (increasing the load by 1 kw) .. .the inverter fans speed increased and it worked like a charm ... then I would switch the grid power back on and thats when it hit me ... watching the kwh meter in the meter spin faster than I have ever seen it spin ... I could see R100 notes flying out the window.

This journey into solar is about to get real.