Hefty fines for unregistered solar users

Massive government overreach which has become something of the norm in this dust bowl, we have stories on this very site about municipalities acting 'unlawfully' i.e. illegally. People need to either just accept defeat and stock up on lube or actually start fighting back.
 
Lupus said:
It's like everything in life, I spent 17k on my PC in 2019, so it's still worth 10k now, though that maybe is true now ;-). But last year no.
When it comes to anything people don't take into account that prices can and do drop, I mean my first system was R140k in 2022, sold it for like 30k, my second system was R140k and it's twice the old one was and that was last years prices.
I won't presume to add that onto the house price if I sold it as it's not worth R140k anymore, it's not like an addition or something to the house that could add value.
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Agreed. Its not a nice truth but its one of those it is what it is things.
 
My customers attorneys referred CoCT to the requirements of NRS-097.
The response was that the revised electrical supply conditions over-ride the NRS-097 specification
In the end, a fine of R21000 was paid to CoCT and the Mecer inverter removed
VOLTEX have been requested to refund the R9000 odd paid for their non-compliant inverter but have hitherto ignored all correspondence
 
chrisc said:
My customers attorneys referred CoCT to the requirements of NRS-097.
The response was that the revised electrical supply conditions over-ride the NRS-097 specification
In the end, a fine of R21000 was paid to CoCT and the Mecer inverter removed
VOLTEX have been requested to refund the R9000 odd paid for their non-compliant inverter but have hitherto ignored all correspondence
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Wait why were they still fined? They were asked to remove it after the tech said it's now in violation, they complied? What was the fine for? What justification was the fine?
 
Lupus said:
So as usual, little to no understanding of what they are actually implementing, but just doing so cause it sounds fancy.
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The only thing is I’m trying to find info on what they define to be grid tied/offgrid and UPS systems and whether there is any mention of NRS inside the SANS document.

I found a 365 page or so 10142-1 copy online and when I searched anything NRS inside the document nothing showed up.
 
denmendez65 said:
The only thing is I’m trying to find info on what they define to be grid tied/offgrid and UPS systems and whether there is any mention of NRS inside the SANS document.

I found a 365 page or so 10142-1 copy online and when I searched anything NRS inside the document nothing showed up.
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IMHO, the confusion is classing everything as SSEG when everything isn't SSEG.
 
wingnut771 said:
IMHO, the confusion is classing everything as SSEG when everything isn't SSEG.
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That is the first mistake. Not everyone wants to feed back to the grid, especially in SA, we got the systems to have some resilience against shoddy power.
I mean even if malls don't feedback, why would someone who has a system that can handle their house only? I mean what benefit does it really bring when someone can cover themselves? They aren't going to feedback after 4pm when they going to be on battery more themselves.
 
wingnut771 said:
IMHO, the confusion is classing everything as SSEG when everything isn't SSEG.
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Page 245 onwards. 7.12 covers all alternative supplies connected to a building. There is nothing about NRS etc. This document is the only thing they can enforce. That is what is in law, everything else is made up.
 

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Lupus said:
That is the first mistake. Not everyone wants to feed back to the grid, especially in SA, we got the systems to have some resilience against shoddy power.
I mean even if malls don't feedback, why would someone who has a system that can handle their house only? I mean what benefit does it really bring when someone can cover themselves? They aren't going to feedback after 4pm when they going to be on battery more themselves.
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And the confusion between Grid tied vs Offgrid Inverter.
 
I went for 3kVA, because that can be plugged in, and it is basically an appliance, being a big PC UPS. solar added on will mean I can unplug it, or reconfigure it so that solar is the primary source, with changeover to battery at night, and mains as last resort when battery is low. It will run the PC, plus some other loads, for 24 hours minimum, so in case of prolonged power outage i will probably, at some point, have to bring the generator out to replenish power.
 
So went and did some education (googling ) on how NRS etc are enforced
It is not as simple as to say NRS is not mentioned in the SANS so therefore it is not illegal.

It actually seem quite convoluted
At a top level standards and specifications are enforced from the OHA and ERA acts
They enable the standards that all installations have to abide by and directly enable the requirements required in municipal bylaws.
NRS is just the specification that all equipment that is connected to the grid has to abide by. So saying it has to feedback into the grid to be relevant is just noise.
As far as I know all the large municipalities have bylaws that require NRS for equipment to be connected to their grids.
JHB, EKH,PTA and COCT all have them
Some bylaws actually go further and reference planning approval as well ( Good Luck Pretoria )

I havent gone and checked Pretoria Bylaws ( I dont care enough as I dont live there ) but I saaw it being referenced a few times. But it raises interesting questions where for example if you created a structure with panels up ( like a carport ) it is regarded as coverage and thus has to be on building plans.


Edit : On the surface it looks like the feedback chrisc's client got was correct. The bylaws enable nrs so the reason he got fined was an illegal connection according to bylaws

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