Home improvement in the Eastern Cape

From drought to downpour in Nelson Mandela Bay

During the 2015–2020 drought, the Impofu and Kouga dams that supply Nelson Mandela Bay fell to their lowest levels since 1985; by mid-2020 Kouga held just 7%. The drought across the Eastern, Western and Northern Cape was declared a national disaster, gazetted on 4 February 2026. By 16 March 2026 the metro's combined dams were at 40.29%, and water losses in its own network had reached a record 60.39% in the first half of the 2025/26 year.

Then the weather flipped. Heavy rain on 5 and 6 May 2026 filled all five supply dams to 100% within 48 hours, and Impofu overflowed for the first time since 2016. Even so, the metro asked residents to keep using water sparingly.

For homeowners, the lesson is to prepare for both extremes:

• Cut your own losses first: have a plumber find hidden leaks and fit water-saving fittings. See plumbing costs.
• Choose waterwise landscaping that survives dry years without daily watering.
• Make sure gutters, roofing and waterproofing can handle a sudden heavy spell after months of dry weather, when cracks and blocked downpipes are most likely to let water in.

Rooftop solar: registration and metro rules

NERSA clarified in February 2026 that grid-connected small-scale embedded generation of 100 kW or less, including rooftop solar, must be registered with your electricity distributor, whether that is Eskom or a licensed municipality, and whether or not the system exports power. Systems with no grid connection at all are exempt.

Nelson Mandela Bay's requirements, in force since 1 July 2016, limit generation to about 25% of your notified maximum demand and to 4.6 kW on a single-phase supply. Inverters must be NRS 097-2-1 certified, the municipality installs a bi-directional meter, and any energy still banked at the end of a billing cycle is forfeited. That last point matters when sizing a system: there is little benefit in producing far more than you use.

Buffalo City's application form requires rooftop panels to sit no more than 1.5 m above the roof line, and ground-mounted panels no higher than 2.1 m, unless building plans are approved. It also states that no credit is paid for power fed into the grid until a feed-in tariff is adopted.

Before signing for solar power, ask the installer which of these rules apply to your address and who will submit the paperwork. Check typical prices in the solar power cost guide. If your main aim is a lower water-heating bill, compare a heat pump or solar geyser too.

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