Energy9.10.2024

Cape Town cheaper solar power meter problem

According to contractors working on bidirectional meter installations in the City of Cape Town (CoCT), there has been little demand for a cheaper electricity feed-in meter launched by the metro five months ago.

The city “unveiled” its more affordable approved single-phase feed-in meter in a statement on 9 May 2024.

“The team has successfully been able to procure, test and now launch this single-phase AMI meter for customers,” Hill-Lewis said.

The new single-phase meter is priced at R6,043, significantly less than the previous three-phase meter’s R10,508.

The lower cost would mean that those who sign up for the city’s small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) programme would spend 40% less in upfront costs to begin contributing to the metro’s grid.

It would also nearly cut the effective payoff period on the bidirectional meter in half.

However, according to a prominent Cape Town-based solar power installation company, the city has seen slow uptake of the new meter.

The installer explained that CoCT had not yet approached the contractors responsible for installing approved bidirectional or AMI meters for the city to assist with installations, as they had been with the more expensive three-phase meters.

Although the city does have stock of the meters, demand has not been sufficient to extend installation responsibilities beyond the city’s own team.

The city confirmed to MyBroadband that it has had stock since May 2024.

However, since 1 April 2024, the number of residential SSEG customers contributing to the feed-in programme has only increased from 910 to 1,007, working out to about 97 additions with both single-phase and three-phase meters.

For reference, the first 910 residential SSEG customers were signed up in about two years, working out to 38 per month, compared with the rate of 19 per month since the new meter was launch.

The high cost of the bidirectional meters in several municipalities across the country has been a major stumbling block for those looking to benefit from their systems’ excess generation during the day.

The slow uptake comes despite the CoCT having one of the most progressive SSEG programmes in the country.

It is the only metro that allows residents and businesses to earn back cash for excess electricity if their feed-in value exceeds their consumption.

As of 1 April 2024, it had paid back R30.8 million in municipal bill credits and cash to households and businesses feeding in excess power.

Limited uptake despite cash incentive

However, the number of SSEGs on the CoCT’s system is still rather small at just 1,007 households and 750 business customers by April 2024.

The limited uptake was likely due in part to the bidirectional meter’s historically high cost. It had been over R10,000 since the introduction of the SSEG programme.

To pay that amount off through the current feed-in tariff of R1.25 per kWh, a customer would need to generate an additional 8,000kWh of electricity.

For reference, an entry-level solar system has a peak output of around 2kW to 3kW.

If that household uses none of this electricity for six hours in the day, it will feed in 12kWh to 18kWh during this time.

With this system, recovering the cost of the feed-in meter would take well over a year to more than two years.

SSEGs in Cape Town must also pay an additional R90 monthly administration fee, which is equivalent to 72kWh of feed-in.

Some Cape Town residents have continued to criticise the price of the cheaper meter, arguing that the city was still only catering for affluent solar power users.

The meter that Hill-Lewis appeared to be holding at the announcement was a modified Landis+Gyr 460S meter, for which we could not find pricing online.

A city support agent has explained that the pricing was determined by the market and that the meter was chosen from several bidders who had submitted public tenders to supply it.

The cost of the meter and its built-in modem works out to about R4,491, while the installation charge of about R1,553 contributes the remaining amount.

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