Solar PV system application turnaround time expected to shorten from 1 October

15 September 2023

More and more Capetonians are installing solar PV and battery systems to avoid Eskom's load-shedding and take advantage of forthcoming City incentives to pay cash for power generated by residents. The City is making significant improvements to the solar PV authorisations process, including an easy-to-use online portal coming early in the new year. Turnaround time of applications for SSEG systems are further expected to be drastically reduced from 1 October 2023, the date from which all small-scale embedded generation systems (SSEG) will need a City-approved inverter and professional sign off. This is due to an increase in fly-by-night operators offering systems of inferior quality, or which are not wired correctly. This practice is contributing to the extended power outages we are seeing when the power comes back on after load-shedding.

'Eskom's load-shedding has caused a huge increase in people installing solar PV and battery systems. To ensure safety and to protect the electrical grids, there is a national requirement that solar systems must be authorised. The volumes of applications and the fact that there are so many different types of systems have caused delays in the authorisation process. The City is working hard to shorten authorisation approval times, including appointing more staff for faster turnaround, and the development of a forthcoming easy-to-use online applications portal. To date the City has authorised almost 6 000 systems. 

'From 1 October, only systems using City-approved inverters with professional sign-off will be authorised. All systems will be regarded as grid-tied. This will dramatically improve the authorisation turnaround time, improve safety, prevent the risk of area outages due to inferior systems connected to the grid and help to protect our homeowners from the many fly by night operators out there. We thank those in the industry who are already driving safe and legal systems. Our teams are here to assist all stakeholders in this transition. The improvements we are bringing to the table means authorisations will be faster and safer, which means customers can protect themselves from load-shedding quicker. Installers will also be able to manage stock and cash flow better and not be bogged down in paperwork. We really value our industry stakeholders as we move forward together,' said the City's Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Councillor Beverley van Reenen, addressing a large number of installers at a City and GreenCape installer session.

National legislation and regulations require authorisation:

National legislation and regulations require the authorisation of all power generating systems connected to the electricity supply. Authorisation requirements have been around for almost a decade and the City continues to work to refine processes to the benefit of customers. 

Making the application process faster, safer

• From October 2023 all SSEG systems will need a City-approved inverter and professional sign off. Currently many systems using non-approved inverters are not wired correctly, posing risks to the safety and integrity of the network. This significantly slows down the registration process because there are too many different wiring configurations for the City professionals to consider. Reducing the wiring configurations speeds up the process.

To note: this applies to solar PV and battery systems connected into wiring of the building. It doesn't apply to the trolley inverters for example that plug into wall sockets. These are regarded as electrical appliances.

• Applications for standby and off-grid systems will not be accepted. Pre-October authorisations and applications will remain valid and be processed, but priority will be given to grid-tied systems using City-approved inverters.
  
  The City is working on an online application process.