Solar panels and pushing back into the grid.

[Ballito self storage]

I recently invested around R400k on renewable energy,solar panels and inverters etc.Kwadukuza municipality then promptly installed a One Dierctional meter prohibiting me from pushing electricity back into the grid,therefor making my total investment almost obsolute.In other words in the day time i am self sufficient in genrating my power usage,except at night i have use from the drid.if i had my old disc meter i would give back power in day time and once that was done i would give my excess power to the grid at no charge,but i am being denied this gesture.Any takes from somebody what the legal implecations would be if itook the matter further.I am sure there are lots of people in the same predicament.

 

[supersunbird]

I recently invested around R400k on renewable energy,solar panels and inverters etc.Kwadukuza municipality then promptly installed a One Dierctional meter prohibiting me from pushing electricity back into the grid,therefor making my total investment almost obsolute.In other words in the day time i am self sufficient in genrating my power usage,except at night i have use from the drid.if i had my old disc meter i would give back power in day time and once that was done i would give my excess power to the grid at no charge,but i am being denied this gesture.Any takes from somebody what the legal implecations would be if itook the matter further.I am sure there are lots of people in the same predicament.

Should have done research and got clearance before your investment. Sorry about that.

 

[reactor_sa]

I don't think it's allowed anywhere in south Africa, 1 because it would be unsafe and 2 because the eksdom and municipalities would have no money.

 

[agentrfr]

Phone them up and ask to install a bidirectional smart meter - they can't say no.

As long as you are a monthly net user then there isnt an issue. If you are a net exporter - an electricity producer - then things get complicated

Tbh your panel installer guys should have done this for you

 

[ddgza]

At the moment there is no framework to allow for small-scale PV systems to be connected to the grid. What you were doing is technically illegal, and you only derived the benefit due to the way older rotary meters measure power. To legally use your current system to feedback into the grid you will have to register as a generator with Eskom; then you will have to negotiate a feedback tariff structure with the Kwadukuza municipality amongst other legal and technical requirements. Your 400k investment will quickly balloon into a multi-million Rand outlay.

There is talk about bringing in a framework, but it will be a while. The two main push backs are the cross-subsidisation of electricity and the potential loss of revenue for municipalities. Cape Town is the only municipality who is currently pursuing a framework, and you can connect to the grid and feed back, but their program does come with a lot of conditions such as you have to be a net user, and you need to pay R13/day access.

 

[Faaiez]

I don't think it's allowed anywhere in south Africa, 1 because it would be unsafe and 2 because the eksdom and municipalities would have no money.

I think you’re wrong. This was posted by CityPower in June. Why do you say it’s unsafe? It happens all over the world.

 

[orin76]

I have heard of situations where feeding back is allowed by Eskom as long as you are a net user of electricity. In other words, you can use your generation facilities to off-set your electricity bill, but once you reach 0 consumption, you will not be paid for any additional in-feeds into the grid. Unfortunately, this information was obtained verbally and I have no link or any kind of written source. I also don't know if this was for large power users only or whether normal households are included.

 

[ddgza]

Faaiez is right is see City Power have launched their pilot:

1.6 EMBEDDED GENERATION TARIFF
1.6.1. In terms of the provisions of the Electricity Regulation Act, (Act 4 of 2006) (ERA)
the generation of electricity is a licensed activity, unless exempted by the Minister
of Energy. The tariffs are therefore subjected to the provisions of the ERA and are
currently interim / pilot
1.6.2. This tariff will only apply to customers that are net consumers of City Power and
who have invested in embedded generation capacity, are grid-tied and comply
with all regulations regarding grid connection
1.6.3. All Embedded Generators are required to register with City Power and the
equipment used must comply with the technical standards required by City Power
1.6.4. All Large Power Users and Business Customers who would be willing to invest in
embedded generation with the purpose of supplementing their electricity
supply from City Power will have to be on a conventional tariff structure. If
they are currently on a pre-paid structure, they will be required to migrate to a
conventional tariff structure
1.6.5. All Residential Customers who would be willing to invest in embedded generation
with the purpose of supplementing their electricity supply from City Power will
have to be on a time-of-use, conventional tariff structure. If they are currently on
a pre-paid structure, they will be required to migrate to the time-of-use
conventional tariff structure
1.6.6. Embedded Generators that are at any time capable of feeding back energy into
the grid will require meters with bi-directional metering capability
1.6.7. All parties that would invest in generating capacity and who would elect to only
feed into the grid (and never draw from the grid) will be treated as an additional
electricity supplier under a negotiated power purchase agreement
1.6.8. This embedded generation tariff is only applicable to a maximum generation
capacity of 1 MW

 

[ddgza]

The OP will have to contact Kwadukuza municipality and see if they have a system in place or are going to put something in place.

 

[upup]

I know someone in Bloemfontein who got a 2 way meter.

 

[Arthur]

Make an appointment with the chief electrical engineer and discuss it face-to-face. I did that in 2012, submitted a detailed project plan with all the necessary technical documentation, and came to an agreement. The municipality installed a 4-quadrant meter at their expense, and I've been exporting ever since, with nett metering. I have fully recovered my investment. Details in The Solar Power Thread.

 

[Gordon_R]

My cousin in Rondebosch (CT) was part of a pilot project feeding solar power into the grid (all legally compliant). Subsequently a prepaid meter was installed, that deducts units when he feeds into the grid!? He still has a bidirectional meter, and has to get periodic refunds from the council. Not user friendly!?

 

[ToxicBunny]

Durban and kwadukuza are a bit more hard arsed about this. You should have done your research before spending that kind of money

Your only real option is to setup a battery bank to hold over your excess capacity from the day to use at night

 

[richjdavies]

Each municipality has it's own rules. Eskom said they were coming up with a framework 2 years ago, but it faded away and disappeared. I've often heard that you can feed back at 'megaflex' rates; but Eskom continues to expressly forbid feedback before your meter unless you are 'wheeling' on an official wheeling rate.

In short - as with everything about electricity - all the rules are LOCAL... to your municipality.

 

[Tabac]

I think you’re wrong. This was posted by CityPower in June. Why do you say it’s unsafe?

Unsafe - Ring feedback. Say they are working on an electrical line somewhere, their part of the electricity feed is isolated, but now you feed electricity back into the system - POOF - another fatal electrocution.

 

[konfab]

Unsafe - Ring feedback. Say they are working on an electrical line somewhere, their part of the electricity feed is isolated, but now you feed electricity back into the system - POOF - another fatal electrocution.

Think of the upside. You will be creating jobs in perpetuity:twisted:

 

[itareanlnotani]

Unsafe - Ring feedback. Say they are working on an electrical line somewhere, their part of the electricity feed is isolated, but now you feed electricity back into the system - POOF - another fatal electrocution.

All electrical wires are deemed live, so are isolated when worked on - whether this is house side, or grid side.
Standard practice, and has been for many decades.

 

[richjdavies]

Unsafe - Ring feedback. Say they are working on an electrical line somewhere, their part of the electricity feed is isolated, but now you feed electricity back into the system - POOF - another fatal electrocution.

Thats why they only let you feedback with an 'anti-islanding' device - i.e. if there's no grid coming in, then it can't feed back.

There's a lot about this here:
https://www.greencape.co.za/content/small-scale-embedded-generation-sseg-resource-pack/
Lots of municipalities ALLOW you to feedback now, I'm not sure the economics stack up most of the time, but they let you sell them power at less than they buy it from Eskom

 

[itareanlnotani]

Thats why they only let you feedback with an 'anti-islanding' device - i.e. if there's no grid coming in, then it can't feed back.

There's a lot about this here:
https://www.greencape.co.za/content/small-scale-embedded-generation-sseg-resource-pack/
Lots of municipalities ALLOW you to feedback now, I'm not sure the economics stack up most of the time, but they let you sell them power at less than they buy it from Eskom

...and with the fun plus of paying an extra daily fee.

 

[Faaiez]

Unsafe - Ring feedback. Say they are working on an electrical line somewhere, their part of the electricity feed is isolated, but now you feed electricity back into the system - POOF - another fatal electrocution.

So how is this possible throughout the world?
There must be a way around it being unsafe?