AfriForum demands clarity on the mandatory registration of small-scale embedded generators

Enzo Matrix said:
One of us doesn't get it. Thats for sure
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RaptorSA said:
"customers generating more than 100kW"

You can technically generate more than "100kW" using one of those piss-trickle solar fountains in your garden if you leave it for long enough.
Idiots.

And once again Afrifroum is ahead of the pack. The DA is probably too busy trying to save the country GNU and coming up with repetitive campaign slogans to preface their next media announcement with.
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Here's a thread I wrote just for you

What are watts and watt-hours?

With many forumites being forced to embrace electrical backup and solar systems I thought it might be helpful to put together a little explainer on the basic theory regarding energy and power (and maybe save some of my sanity in the process). The idea isn't to be an electrical course (wayyy...
mybroadband.co.za mybroadband.co.za
 
RaptorSA said:
Yes you can.
I'm busy ordering 10,000 x 10 Watt water fountains on Temu to prove you wrong.

EDIT: Make that 10,001
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Now power them all at once and you've earned yourself a qualification. :p
 
Flanders said:
Now power them all at once and you've earned yourself a qualification. :p
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I just realised if I power them all and Rand Water finds out I'm pomping more water than them I'll probably get slapped with yet another made up municipal bill.
 
RaptorSA said:
The DA is probably too busy trying to save the country GNU and coming up with repetitive campaign slogans to preface their next media announcement with.
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Eskom is just doing what the DA have been doing for many years in the Cape. The DA saw their revenue decline with load shedding and thumb sucked some red tape to make it more difficult and costly to get solar. The DA just went and created municipal bylaws that require all fixed solar panels to be registered. When the DA joined the GNU suddenly Eskom is trying to do the same as what the DA did in the Cape. Afriforum should go after the DA before Eskom, the DA is the source evil in this matter.
 
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Benedict A55h0le not said:
Eskom is just doing what the DA have been doing for many years in the Cape. The DA saw their revenue decline with load shedding and thumb sucked some red tape to make it more difficult and costly to get solar. The DA just went and created municipal bylaws that require all fixed solar panels to be registered. When the DA joined the GNU suddenly Eskom is trying to do the same as what the DA did in the Cape. Afriforum should go after the DA before Eskom, the DA is the source evil in this matter.
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Aah yes, I forgot about the Western Cape and its solar registrations. That explains a lot.
The last time I saw Kaapies in their natural habit the Dutch East India company was still stopping over to collect lemoene.
 
Sometimes it is worth stating the obvious but lets just do this because remember we cannot sue Eskom for damages.

Refrigerator R12k
Freezer R11.5k
Other appliances over the last few years about R30k in total

We want to get solar now Eskom ask us to bend over because they have a Thanos size fist they want to shove up our asses using superglue as loop. They don't understand the word "NO" because it is above their combined vocabulary. I call it bullshit I will mount my entire solar system on a trailer and run bloody extension cords to where I need it.

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Benedict A55h0le not said:
Eskom is just doing what the DA have been doing for many years in the Cape. The DA saw their revenue decline with load shedding and thumb sucked some red tape to make it more difficult and costly to get solar. The DA just went and created municipal bylaws that require all fixed solar panels to be registered. When the DA joined the GNU suddenly Eskom is trying to do the same as what the DA did in the Cape. Afriforum should go after the DA before Eskom, the DA is the source evil in this matter.
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Would love for someone to challenge the DA guidelines, especially for systems that are not sseg.
 
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mdesmore1990 said:
Would love for someone to challenge the DA guidelines, especially for systems that are not sseg.
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The DA has successfully indoctrinated people with "ANC fear" to enable them to do whatever they want and get away with it. Besides the DA`s mad socialist solar by-laws, they have hiked rates and taxes for decades in the Cape and their other municipalities at levels that falls into hyperinflation territory.
 
Let’s start with a few simple questions:

Can Eskom provide stable power?
Can Eskom distribute power reliably?
Can either Eskom or the municipalities deliver consistent electricity?

The answer to all three is a clear no.

Eskom cannot provide stable power because many of our power stations are outdated and poorly maintained. The two "new" power stations Medupi and Kusile have been riddled with more issues than some of the older ones. As for distribution, there’s no shortage of video evidence: exploding power lines, cables being stolen, or installations done so poorly they pose a danger to the public.

But the last question is the most crucial because I know for a fact that in many towns, people are left without electricity for 48 hours or more without any accountability.

Now Eskom wants to stake a claim on the sun. They want to control solar energy systems systems that we paid for out of our own pockets. Under the guise of "safety," they’re pushing costly regulations and trying to force the installation of smart meters. Not to protect us—but to profit from the very power we generate and to eventually take control of it.

We're living in a country where taking from the public has become easier by the day. Laws are selectively enforced, usually when it benefits those in power. Just look around reckless driving is everywhere, but where are the traffic officers? Crime statistics are through the roof, yet everyday citizens are left asking: What are the police actually doing?

Eskom needs solar to remain expensive. Why? Because if it becomes too affordable, they won’t be able to sell us their overpriced, unreliable electricity anymore. Many people would rather run noisy, fuel-hungry generators to charge their batteries than rely on Eskom. That says it all.

And let’s not forget who created the situation that made solar a necessity in the first place? Eskom did. They let the grid collapse. Now, as companies and citizens alike flee the country, they’re desperately trying to recoup costs by selling us expensive electricity and punishing anyone who tries to become energy independent.

So what’s the solution?

We find other ways to go completely off-grid. If that means investing in inverter generators that can charge our batteries with 13 amps or more, then so be it. Because Eskom and the municipalities have proven beyond any doubt that they are not reliable
 
Benedict A55h0le not said:
Eskom is just doing what the DA have been doing for many years in the Cape. The DA saw their revenue decline with load shedding and thumb sucked some red tape to make it more difficult and costly to get solar. The DA just went and created municipal bylaws that require all fixed solar panels to be registered. When the DA joined the GNU suddenly Eskom is trying to do the same as what the DA did in the Cape. Afriforum should go after the DA before Eskom, the DA is the source evil in this matter.
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Not quite. City of Cape Town requires the registration of solar installations and requires you to pay for a bidirectional meter IF you wish to export power.

Eskom requires the registration of solar installations and demand an installation of a bidirectional meter and change to TOU (time of use) tariff even if you don’t want to export. All TOU tariffs are post paid and carry a hefty monthly network fee. There is no option to stay on a Homelight or prepaid tariff. Not only do they force you onto a tariff that subsidizes them with hundreds of rands per month despite no usage, the customer is quoted for the infrastructure change including the kiosl (brown box) and all necessary electrical changes easily surpassing R50k

Thats the unfair part
 
recre8 said:
Not quite. City of Cape Town requires the registration of solar installations and requires you to pay for a bidirectional meter IF you wish to export power.

Eskom requires the registration of solar installations and demand an installation of a bidirectional meter and change to TOU (time of use) tariff even if you don’t want to export. All TOU tariffs are post paid and carry a hefty monthly network fee. There is no option to stay on a Homelight or prepaid tariff. Not only do they force you onto a tariff that subsidizes them with hundreds of rands per month despite no usage, the customer is quoted for the infrastructure change including the kiosl (brown box) and all necessary electrical changes easily surpassing R50k

Thats the unfair part
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Can't bring facts to the hypocrite.
 
Enzo Matrix said:
Well exactly

100kw or any kind of measurement is pointless without a time period explicitly stated

100kw means f all
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You're so wrong it's laughable. Rather stop digging and read with comprehension what was written.
 
richjdavies said:
What are you all going in about kW is the instant power of a thing not the kWh (kilowatts hours) of energy that increases as the hours and years go by.

The gazette is pretty clear it talks about capacity (measured in MW) and then says under 100kW or not connected to the grid means no license?
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The licence exemption is not the issue, I think. You don't get a licence if you register your system, you've never needed one for anything below 1MW.

The legislation specifically states that the system must be registered with the distributor, who can prescribe conditions for the continued use of the Point of Connection. There is a difference between licencing and registration.

Also important to note that the latest legislation has completely scrapped the requirement of a licence for all systems in any case, including commercial systems:
https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/ramaphosa-doubles-next-renewables-round-to-5-200-mw-scraps-100-mw-cap-on-distributed-plant-and-moots-feed-in-tariff-as-he-unveils-load-shedding-crisis-response-2022-07-25

The biggest criticism of Eskom's registration rules is that it reckons electrical engineers are the only ones qualified to sign off on the technical and safety aspects of the system.

According to Eskom's interpretation, even the most qualified electricians cannot work on high-voltage embedded generation systems, in this particular instance, the DC cabling between the panels and inverter and between the batteries and inverter.

The other issue is that many inverters can feed back with a few changes in settings. Some people are doing that on old wheel meters and running back their consumption — which Eskom is right to challenge.

However, most recent prepaid meters will actually show that feed-in as consumption, so there is absolutely no motivation to feed back illegally with them.

In addition to the electrical engineer sign-off, Eskom insists on smart meters for all grid-tied customers and specific connection isolation points accessible to its personnel.
 
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Hanno Labuschagne said:
The licence exemption is not the issue, I think. You don't get a licence if you register your system, you've never needed one for anything below 1MW.

The legislation specifically states that the system must be registered with the distributor, who can prescribe conditions for the continued use of the Point of Connection. There is a difference between licencing and registration.

Also important to note that the latest legislation has completely scrapped the requirement of a licence for all systems in any case, including commercial systems:
https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/ramaphosa-doubles-next-renewables-round-to-5-200-mw-scraps-100-mw-cap-on-distributed-plant-and-moots-feed-in-tariff-as-he-unveils-load-shedding-crisis-response-2022-07-25

The biggest criticism of Eskom's registration rules is that it reckons electrical engineers are the only ones qualified to sign off on the technical and safety aspects of the system.

According to Eskom's interpretation, even the most qualified electricians cannot work on high-voltage embedded generation systems, in this particular instance, the DC cabling between the panels and inverter and between the batteries and inverter.

The other issue is that many inverters can feed back with a few changes in settings. Some people are doing that on old wheel meters and running back their consumption — which Eskom is right to challenge.

However, most recent prepaid meters will actually show that feed-in as consumption, so there is absolutely no motivation to feed back illegally with them.

In addition to the electrical engineer sign-off, Eskom insists on smart meters for all grid-tied customers and specific connection isolation points accessible to its personnel.
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This is the biggest issue in my opinoon as well.

Even if this is resolved, I wont register, as I dont want to abide by Eskom rules. They can disconnect me. I will take the registration cost and invest in more panels and batteries.

I am also not registered anywhere on Eskom databases, not for lack of trying.

With they way Eskom prices are increasing, it will soon be cheaper to top up batterries with the generator than pay eskom there tarrifs.
 
The best bet is to go 100% off grid. Then they have no say in anything anymore. At first I would say it is is insane to think about but, generators can produce clean power at good amps and it can charge solar batteries easily when the sun behind the clouds. All in I think it best not to consider municipal power or direct Eskom power anymore. If all they want to do is bash our heads in why should we use them?
 
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