5 days ago
Is South Africa's solar energy growth hindered by outdated regulations?
According to GoSolr paper, regulations are hindering the growth of solar installations in the country.
Image: Pexels
South Africa's solar energy sector is growing steadily, but not nearly fast enough to keep up with demand or the worsening national energy crisis.
This is according to a 14-page GoSolr Light Paper – June 2025, that highlighted findings on solar energy in the country.
The paper reported that 137,000 homes in South Africa have already installed solar systems, with 1,000 new installations per month.
But instead of being supported and encouraged, solar users are being penalised through high fixed fees, forced time-of-use tariffs, and inconsistent municipal regulations.
'We're still facing an energy crisis — Eskom can't produce all we need. Yet instead of encouraging solar, the system is actively placing hurdles in people's way,' the report warns.
One of the key issues raised is the tariff structures imposed by certain municipalities. This is most notable in Johannesburg. While prepaid customers in Joburg pay a fixed monthly fee of R423, solar users on postpaid systems are being forced onto time-of-use billing with fixed fees as high as R1,615 per month, and no real ability to feed power back into the grid.
Cape Town allows prepaid solar users to remain on simpler billing plans and offers a feed-in tariff of R1.16/kWh, plus an incentive of R0.29/kWh.
The paper outlined how solar installation rules vary across municipalities. It noted that national requirements demand certified electricians and engineer sign-offs, but many municipalities go further, requiring extra application fees, tariff changes, and meter upgrades.
'The result is a complex, fragmented, and expensive process that deters many households and small businesses from going solar,' says GoSolr.
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Advertisement
Next
Stay
Close ✕
Ad Loading
Even with Eskom waiving solar application fees until March 2026, the paper argues this must become permanent, and be backed by a single national policy framework to simplify compliance.
South Africa's Energy Availability Factor (EAF) from Eskom remains low at 57.3%, far below the 70% target — raising fears of worsening load shedding during winter. Yet instead of scaling solar as a relief valve, the country is bogged down by policy gridlock.
'We are over-regulated and underperforming,' the paper states. 'It's time to stop faffing around with regulations and start doing.'
GoSolr proposes five urgent actions:
Free consumer tariff choice – no forced billing models.
Review and reduce import tariffs for solar components.
Implement a national solar framework that streamlines installation rules.
Scrap excessive registration/compliance costs.
Allow all producers — large and small — to feed energy into the grid.
The findings were publicised after Eskom strongly rejected false claims circulating online about imminent stage 4 and stage 6 loadshedding from July 6 until July 20.
The power utility stated the country's power system remains stable with loadshedding suspended since 10pm on 15 May 2025.
"The Winter Outlook, published on 5 May 2025, covering the period ending 31 August 2025, remains valid. It indicates that loadshedding will not be necessary if unplanned outages stay below 13 000MW. If outages rise to 15 000MW, loadshedding would be limited to a maximum of 21 days out of 153 days and restricted to Stage 2. There are no planned outages of this scale. Misinformation causes unnecessary alarm. Stay informed—trust only official Eskom updates on our official platforms," the power utility said.
IOL NEWS
