Solar power in Gauteng

Johannesburg: City Power's paperwork

City Power's process starts with an electricity supply application to the City of Johannesburg for a notification number. The solar application then needs a single-line diagram, the inverter datasheet and NRS certificate, a site layout, a maintenance procedure, and after installation a PV commissioning form and certificate of compliance. In 2024 City Power said solar customers would move to post-paid accounts, with a smart bi-directional meter installed at the customer's expense.

In April 2026, responding to complaints about delays, City Power said there are no registration fees for SSEG and blamed the backlog on non-compliant submissions. It is now enforcing two existing rules: the certificate of compliance must come with proof that the contractor is registered with the Department of Labour, and nobody may sign documents on behalf of an ECSA-registered professional. Ask your installer for both before you pay a deposit.

Tshwane: the net-consumer rule

Tshwane's requirements, tabled with a proposed embedded generation policy in August 2025, say residential customers with solar move to an embedded generation tariff and get a bi-directional meter at their own cost. They also say only customers who remain net consumers, using more electricity than they generate over a 12-month average, are permitted, and the same document says the City won't compensate exports at this stage. Ask the City's Renewable Energy Office whether that has changed before sizing a system to sell power back.

Tshwane doesn't require building plans for roof panels unless they stand more than 1.5 m above the roof surface or more than 600 mm above its highest point. Higher installations need full plans, an engineer's endorsement and a zoning relaxation.

Ekurhuleni: prepaid, kiosks and engineers

Ekurhuleni's council-approved guideline deems every system grid-tied and requires the Head of Department: Energy's written consent. What happens next depends on whether you export:

• No export: fit reverse power flow blocking, and you may keep your prepaid meter.
• Export: you need a 4-quadrant bi-directional AMR meter installed at your cost, a deposit, and metering in a kiosk in the road reserve, also at your cost, unless a suitable street-front meter box exists. Units left on a prepaid meter are forfeited unless you delay the switch.
• Systems above 18 kVA: a registered professional engineer or technologist must sign off at commissioning. A PV GreenCard can be submitted alongside the certificate of compliance.