As the number of Durban residents switching to renewable energy systems increases, eThekwini Municipality’s Electricity Unit has seen its revenue impacted.
The City has acknowledged that ratepayers’ use of renewable sources of energy, such as solar power, is having a negative impact on its electricity sales.
While the municipality has encouraged its customers to embrace renewable energy as part of its energy mix going into the future, it raised concerns about residents who install these energy technologies without complying with the relevant regulations.
Speaking of its electricity sales, the municipality said while the impact of renewable energy systems has not been quantified, the trend has had a significant impact on its sales.
The (electricity) unit’s revenue for the last financial year, 2022/23, was about R18.1 billion (unaudited figure), the City said.
The eThekwini Municipality said: “The City is currently unable to accurately quantify the financial losses directly attributed to the shift of customers towards alternative power sources.
“Customers are turning to alternative power solutions to lessen the effects of load shedding ... However, it is evident that this trend has significantly impacted our sales.”
eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said numerous customers, who were currently utilising alternative power sources, are not registered with any municipal system as required by regulations.
“The City is in the process of implementing a programme to legalise these systems. The City’s Electricity Unit is preparing to launch an amnesty programme for customers to legalise the systems they are currently using.
“An online application process has been developed to streamline this process. Further details regarding the launch of the amnesty programme will be communicated once all necessary processes are in place,” she said.
Sisilana said the delay in legalising these systems was due to the lack of national onboarding guidelines for renewable energy. These guidelines have been gradually developed over the past few years, prompting municipalities to respond accordingly.
The municipality’s renewable energy manager, Sibusiso Ntshalintshali, told “The Mercury” recently that the City encouraged the installation of approved solar systems at household and commercial level as a mitigation tool to reduce the impact of load shedding to the local economy. However, the necessary processes had to be followed.
He said customers must submit an application form to the municipality prior to installing solar systems.
Ntshalintshali added that customers would also need a single line diagram/ design that had been approved by a professional engineer or technologist registered with the Engineering Council of South Africa.
“The professional will certify that the system design covers relevant sections of the SA Renewable Energy Grid Code and relevant sections of the NRS (National Rationalised Specifications) 097-2-3.
“Post-commissioning, the customer will also need to submit the required post-commissioning professional engineer/professional technologist signoff, certificate of compliance, as built drawings and commissioning report,” Ntshalintshali said.
The Mercury