Selling residential PV power back to grid

[steyngert]

With the recent announcement that emergency measure will be implemented to increase the availability of electricity, domestic producers of solar power has now been included (https://mybroadband.co.za/news/ener...ncluding-solar-and-short-term-powerships.html).

I am aware that the City of Cape Town is in the process of changing regulations to the point that they will purchase excess electricity from residential or commercial solar producers - in the past you were only able to obtain a credit, and you had to be a net consumer of energy. Now you can become a net producer. The current rate paid is around R1.00/kWh, and there are plans to increase it. (https://www.iol.co.za/weekend-argus...roducers-b649ece3-6832-4288-8720-ebb233e8daf7).

So my questions are as follows:
1. If you are selling it back to the grid in City of Cape Town at the moment, what type of meter do you have installed to be able to handle the bi-directional flow?
2. Is it the cost of the meter a cost you had to incur yourself (if so, how much), or did the CoCT install it free of charge?
3. How do you report your electricity production - is the meter doing it automatically, does it add credits, or is the credit applied to your municipal bill?

I am an Eskom customer (direct, not through a municipality) and it would be interesting to compare their approach to CoCT.

These are the questions for now, lookin forward to responses.

 

[shadow_man]

With the recent announcement that emergency measure will be implemented to increase the availability of electricity, domestic producers of solar power has now been included (https://mybroadband.co.za/news/ener...ncluding-solar-and-short-term-powerships.html).

I am aware that the City of Cape Town is in the process of changing regulations to the point that they will purchase excess electricity from residential or commercial solar producers - in the past you were only able to obtain a credit, and you had to be a net consumer of energy. Now you can become a net producer. The current rate paid is around R1.00/kWh, and there are plans to increase it. (https://www.iol.co.za/weekend-argus...roducers-b649ece3-6832-4288-8720-ebb233e8daf7).

So my questions are as follows:
1. If you are selling it back to the grid in City of Cape Town at the moment, what type of meter do you have installed to be able to handle the bi-directional flow?
2. Is it the cost of the meter a cost you had to incur yourself (if so, how much), or did the CoCT install it free of charge?
3. How do you report your electricity production - is the meter doing it automatically, does it add credits, or is the credit applied to your municipal bill?

I am an Eskom customer (direct, not through a municipality) and it would be interesting to compare their approach to CoCT.

These are the questions for now, lookin forward to responses.

Firstly they pay in CREDIT and not ZAR - so, if you don't use the grid and need their grid credit - then it's pointless.

Second - the meter is R10 000 and the city makes you pay for this.

Third - It logs the units you feed back and they credit against your bill iirc (as most people have prepaid now).

Fourth - The new proposal says they'll BUY your units in ZAR, but that they'll only pay R1.1c per unit (when they resell for R2.70+).

Fifth - You're limited as to how many kWh you can feed back (they arbitrarily decide this based on your breakers ampage).

--

Cape Town to 'pay actual cash' to businesses for power in attempt to end load shedding | Business

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has announced new plans to secure more power for the grid to end load shedding.

www.news24.com

"In the past you [would] run a credit until bill zero and couldn't go further than that. Whether you prefer e-wallet, Apple Pay or EFT, it doesn't matter, we will send you money for the power you sell to the City... We will pay actual cash for the power from commercial small-scale embedded generation producers," said Hill-Lewis.

The rate is R1.1c per unit, Hill-Lewis said, but there is scope to make it more attractive.

--

It's thus not worth it as a CoCT customer at this point (with only credit being applied) - particularly as I only need grid power for +-5% of the year. It *may* be worth it once they starting paying in ZAR.

 

[Tariqe]

CoCT is going from R1 to 1.1C, is that correct !!!!!

 

[deweyzeph]

I honestly don't know why anyone would bother reselling power back to the municipality. It's really not worth the extra hassle.

 

[ebendl]

I honestly don't know why anyone would bother reselling power back to the municipality. It's really not worth the extra hassle.

I'm guessing if they were open to this from the start and actually encouraged customers with good rates, then there would have been some pickup.

But yeah, if you think CoCT's R1.1 is bad, try the R0.10 rate that City of Tshwane offers. For me running my inverter at 100% the whole day? No thanks.

 

[Snyper564]

CoCT is going from R1 to 1.1C, is that correct !!!!!

The person typed R1.1c

Its R1.1 not 1.1c

 

[Benedict A55h0le]

Have CoCt removed the bylaw that states you are not allowed to feed in more than you take from the grid? I mean seriously, how dumb are these socialists to make a rule like that in a country with a massive energy shortage. Go die socialist scum!

 

[Benedict A55h0le]

They are gonna have to make some seriously big changes before I get a grid connected system. But they won`t, they still have their solar tariffs, hell even the system making your property more valuable is going to hike your property tax. This socialist system will continue to take from the haves, and nothing says I`m a have like a fancy solar system. Fvck that.

 

[Priapus]

I'm guessing if they were open to this from the start and actually encouraged customers with good rates, then there would have been some pickup.

But yeah, if you think CoCT's R1.1 is bad, try the R0.10 rate that City of Tshwane offers. For me running my inverter at 100% the whole day? No thanks.

10c ? **** that.

 

[dj_jyno]

Have CoCt removed the bylaw that states you are not allowed to feed in more than you take from the grid? I mean seriously, how dumb are these socialists to make a rule like that in a country with a massive energy shortage. Go die socialist scum!

They are working on that. Going to be removed shortly for industrial and commercial users, residential to follow.

 

[inkos]

There was an interview with the COCT mayor and they aiming for cash payments to be implemented in atleast the next 50 months

 

[Nerfherder]

Have CoCt removed the bylaw that states you are not allowed to feed in more than you take from the grid? I mean seriously, how dumb are these socialists to make a rule like that in a country with a massive energy shortage. Go die socialist scum!

I don't think its a socialist thing.

I think its more to do with the supply being unreliable and making the entire system worth it.

So like on a hot day every solar panel in the country will be earning money generating electricity but the grid wont actually need that electricity.
Then magically at 6pm that power disappears and they have to start up a power station somewhere.
Also - if they can't rely on that power they would have already be generating power another way and paying for that already as well.

Creating a free market in this case wont help load shedding.

 

[Paul_S]

I don't think its a socialist thing.

I think its more to do with the supply being unreliable and making the entire system worth it.

So like on a hot day every solar panel in the country will be earning money generating electricity but the grid wont actually need that electricity.
Then magically at 6pm that power disappears and they have to start up a power station somewhere.
Also - if they can't rely on that power they would have already be generating power another way and paying for that already as well.

Creating a free market in this case wont help load shedding.

Except in Eskom's case they could be using all that spare electricity during the day to replenish their pumped storage schemes.

At the moment they are load shedding at night in order to replinish the pumped storage schemes which they are using to sumplement the base load during the day. Solar power could help delay the usage of the pumped storage schemes so that they can be used for the peak times instead? That would certainly go a long way in reducing load shedding.

 

[Benedict A55h0le]

I don't think its a socialist thing.

I think its more to do with the supply being unreliable and making the entire system worth it.

So like on a hot day every solar panel in the country will be earning money generating electricity but the grid wont actually need that electricity.
Then magically at 6pm that power disappears and they have to start up a power station somewhere.
Also - if they can't rely on that power they would have already be generating power another way and paying for that already as well.

Creating a free market in this case wont help load shedding.

This is a 100% socialist thing. They refuse to allow the private home to benefit from their solar investment. You are not allowed to be compensated for your surplus energy. You are forced by law to provide it for free, in the name of social duty!

 

[Gaz{M}]

I would rather have time of use tariffs, so I can run my geyser etc. at 2am for cheap.

 

[wingnut771]

I would rather have time of use tariffs, so I can run my geyser etc. at 2am for cheap.

I would rather have both so I can charge my battery when its cheap and sell it back when its expensive.

 

[Neuk_]

I'll relook it if CoJ/CityPower changes anything, at the moment the cost and red tape were more than prohibitive.

 

[flytek]

The municipality probably makes something like 50% of its entire income from reselling cheap bulk electricity to the end users at R2.70 a unit.
They absolutely do not want anyone interfering with their salaries by installing solar or heaven forbid sending some back at a rate that eats into their salaries.

 

[Nerfherder]

This is a 100% socialist thing. They refuse to allow the private home to benefit from their solar investment. You are not allowed to be compensated for your surplus energy. You are forced by law to provide it for free, in the name of social duty!

Well its hopefully changing. I think that a energy economy is a good thing.

 

[Benedict A55h0le]

The municipality probably makes something like 50% of its entire income from reselling cheap bulk electricity to the end users at R2.70 a unit.
They absolutely do not want anyone interfering with their salaries by installing solar or heaven forbid sending some back at a rate that eats into their salaries.

They raise their salaries by the same amount as service charge increases (10-15%), and they already have huge salaries. But they use this money mostly to subsidize the 2 lowest socialist classes, the thief and indigent classes.