Rooftop Solar in South Africa: Who Must Register, Who Must Declare and What Will It Cost?
By Austin Menzi Moyo Snr
South Africa’s rapid expansion of rooftop solar is giving households and businesses greater control over their electricity supply, but it is also creating an important compliance question: does every solar installation have to be registered, and who must pay for it?
The answer depends primarily on whether the system is connected to the electricity grid, its installed capacity and whether it has a point of connection to the grid.
This is particularly important as Eskom’s current registration-fee relief for qualifying small solar installations is due to expire on 30 September 2026.
Grid-connected and off-grid solar are treated differently
A key clarification from the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) is that registration is not determined by whether a solar system actually exports electricity to the grid.
Instead, the important questions are:
- Does the installation have a point of connection to the electricity grid?
- What is its installed generation capacity?
NERSA confirmed in February 2026 that a grid-connected SSEG installation of 100 kW or less must be registered with the relevant electricity distributor — either Eskom or the licensed municipality supplying the property. Systems above 100 kW with a grid connection must be registered directly with NERSA.
This means that a homeowner cannot avoid registration simply by installing a “zero-export” system that uses all its solar electricity on the premises.
Even if a system has batteries and is configured so that no electricity is deliberately exported to Eskom, the fact that it operates in connection with the grid makes registration relevant.
Eskom explains that a grid-connected generator can affect electricity flows even when it does not export electricity, creating potential safety and network-management issues.
What about a completely off-grid system?
A genuinely off-grid solar installation is different.
If the property has no point of connection between its generation system and the Eskom or municipal electricity network, NERSA says the facility is exempt from the SSEG registration requirement.
Eskom similarly states that customers who are completely off-grid and can demonstrate that they are independent of Eskom’s electricity supply do not have to register the system with Eskom.
However, Eskom’s information also indicates that an off-grid customer should declare the system and provide proof that it is genuinely independent from Eskom’s supply. Historical Eskom SSEG documentation describes this as an official declaration confirming that the installation is off-grid.
In other words:
| Solar installation | Registration requirement |
|---|---|
| Completely off-grid, no grid connection | Generally exempt from SSEG registration |
| Grid-connected, up to 100 kW | Register with Eskom or municipality |
| Grid-connected, above 100 kW | Register with NERSA, as well as meeting grid-connection requirements |
| Grid-connected but zero-export | Still requires registration |
| Solar + batteries connected to grid | Registration requirements still apply |
The precise boundary is expressed slightly differently in official material — Eskom commonly refers to 100 kVA, while NERSA’s February 2026 clarification uses 100 kW. Consumers should therefore confirm the applicable capacity classification with their distributor or NERSA rather than assuming that the two units are interchangeable in every technical circumstance.
So, at what level must an independent electricity producer declare its generation?
This is where some of the public discussion around “independent power producers” can become confusing.
There are two separate thresholds that should not be confused.
1. The 100 kW threshold — registration of grid-connected embedded generation
For an ordinary household or business with a grid-connected solar system:
- 100 kW or less: registration is with Eskom or the relevant municipal electricity distributor.
- More than 100 kW: registration moves to NERSA, while the project must also obtain the necessary grid-connection approval from Eskom or the relevant municipality.
This is the threshold most relevant to rooftop solar owners.
2. The 100 MW threshold — generation licensing
A much larger threshold applies to the requirement for a generation licence.
South Africa amended Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act in 2021, raising the generation-licensing exemption threshold from 1 MW to 100 MW. Generation facilities up to 100 MW were therefore exempted from the obligation to obtain a generation licence, although applicable registration and grid-compliance requirements remained.
Consequently, 100 MW should not be confused with 100 kW.
A simplified way of understanding it is:
100 kW = important threshold for who registers a grid-connected embedded generator.
100 MW = important threshold historically associated with the generation-licensing exemption.
The Electricity Regulation Amendment Act 38 of 2024, which commenced on 1 January 2025, has further modernised South Africa’s electricity regulatory framework, so larger commercial generators should obtain current advice directly from NERSA rather than relying solely on older guidance.
Does registering mean you have to pay Eskom?
Registration and electricity tariffs are two different things.
A solar owner can be legally required to register a system without necessarily paying Eskom simply for registering it.
Eskom currently has a significant temporary incentive in place. For qualifying residential Eskom customers with systems up to 50 kVA, Eskom has waived registration and connection-related charges, including the applicable smart-meter cost, until 30 September 2026. Eskom says the relief can amount to up to R10,000 for urban/residential customers and up to R36,000 for rural customers, depending on the circumstances.
The waiver does not mean that solar electricity is permanently free of network or tariff charges.
Depending on the customer’s tariff, size of system and whether electricity is exported, other charges can apply.
Eskom’s published embedded-generation tariff information, for example, states that grid-tied generation may require the customer to be on an appropriate time-of-use tariff, with applicable electricity and network-related charges.
For larger generators, Eskom also identifies connection charges and use-of-system charges as applicable to grid-connected generation.
What if you sell excess electricity back to the grid?
This is another important distinction.
A customer who installs solar purely to reduce electricity purchased from Eskom is in a different position from a customer who wants to export electricity and receive a financial or tariff credit.
Where electricity is exported, the customer needs an approved arrangement with the relevant electricity distributor, appropriate metering and the applicable tariff.
Eskom says registered customers exporting energy can benefit from approved arrangements such as its Homeflex tariff, under which eligible customers can receive credits for energy exported to the grid.
However, this should not be interpreted as Eskom simply buying every kilowatt-hour produced by every solar homeowner. Export arrangements depend on the applicable distributor, tariff, meter and contractual conditions.
Municipal customers must therefore check their own municipality’s SSEG and feed-in rules, which can differ from Eskom’s arrangements.
What documents does Eskom require?
For many smaller grid-connected systems, Eskom has simplified the compliance process.
The current requirements include:
- a valid Certificate of Compliance (CoC);
- an NRS 097-2-1 inverter type-test certificate; and
- an Embedded Generation Installation (EGI) test report.
Eskom says that, since October 2025, qualifying residential installations can be signed off by appropriately registered Department of Employment and Labour persons, such as Installation Electricians or Master Installation Electricians, rather than requiring an ECSA professional for this purpose.
This is important because a Certificate of Compliance is not the same thing as registration.
NERSA specifically points out that a CoC confirms electrical safety compliance, whereas registration serves a separate regulatory purpose — ensuring that the generation installation is known to and properly integrated with the electricity network.
Why does Eskom need to know about a solar system that never exports power?
There is a practical safety reason.
A grid-connected inverter can potentially feed electricity back into the network during a fault or maintenance operation. If Eskom workers believe a line has been isolated but an unregistered generator is energising part of that network, the consequences could be extremely dangerous.
Eskom identifies several risks associated with unregistered generators, including:
- back-feeding electricity into lines;
- danger to electricity workers;
- damage to Eskom equipment and household appliances; and
- voltage and power-quality problems.
Registration therefore isn’t simply about collecting money from solar owners. It also allows the distributor to understand what generation is operating on its network.
Solar owners should also tell their insurers
The compliance issue goes beyond Eskom and NERSA.
Santam recently warned South African homeowners that insurance considerations are changing as rooftop solar becomes more widespread. Insurers may want information about whether the system is registered, whether it was installed according to applicable standards, who commissioned it and whether appropriate protection systems are installed.
The insurer also advises homeowners to notify their insurer before installation, because the replacement value of the property may need to be adjusted to include the solar panels, inverter, batteries and other permanent equipment.
Depending on the installation, an insurer may also ask for documentation such as:
- the invoice;
- make and model of panels, inverter and batteries;
- installation cost;
- Certificate of Compliance;
- registration documentation; and
- potentially a structural engineer’s certificate confirming that the roof can safely carry the additional load.
This means that keeping the paperwork from the installer is increasingly important.
What should South African solar owners do now?
For anyone who installed rooftop solar without registering it, the safest approach is to determine which category the installation falls into rather than assuming that no registration is necessary because no electricity is exported.
If your solar is connected to Eskom’s network:
Check whether it has been registered with Eskom and whether you have the required compliance documents.
If you receive electricity from a municipality:
Contact the municipality’s electricity department and establish its SSEG registration requirements. Municipalities can have their own tariffs, application procedures and technical requirements.
If the system is completely off-grid:
Make sure you can demonstrate that it has no point of connection to the electricity grid and retain the appropriate declaration and supporting documentation.
If the system is larger than 100 kW:
Do not treat it as an ordinary residential rooftop installation. NERSA registration and more extensive grid-connection requirements may apply.
If the system is approaching 100 MW:
This is firmly in the commercial/utility-scale generation category and requires specialist regulatory, grid-connection and legal advice. The fact that generation below 100 MW may be exempt from a generation licence does not mean that such a project can simply be constructed and connected without registration, grid approval and compliance requirements.
A final warning for solar owners
With Eskom’s current fee waiver ending on 30 September 2026, qualifying customers who have not yet registered their grid-connected systems have a very short window to investigate whether they can take advantage of the current relief.
But the bigger message is that solar registration is not determined simply by whether you sell electricity back to Eskom.
A grid-connected solar system is part of the electricity network even when the homeowner consumes every unit produced.
A genuinely independent off-grid system is treated differently because it has no connection to the network.
And for larger independent generators, the regulatory landscape changes substantially as capacity increases — with 100 kW and 100 MW being two particularly important thresholds that should not be confused.
For consumers unsure about their particular installation, Eskom advises customers to contact its SSEG service channels, while municipal electricity customers should consult their licensed electricity distributor.
#SolarSouthAfrica #RooftopSolar #Eskom #NERSA #RenewableEnergy
Sources: Eskom, NERSA, South African Government and FAnews/Santam. The regulatory position above reflects information available as at 28 September 2026.