City of Cape Town Cash for Power SSEG Feed-In Tariff Application

Key Takeaways

• All grid-tied solar PV and/or battery systems in the City of Cape Town require authorisation and professional sign-off.
• The Cash for Power programme allows you to sell excess electricity back to the City, including a 25c/kWh municipal incentive.
• Cash payout thresholds differ for residential (R1000 annually) and commercial (R5000 monthly) customers.
• Unauthorised systems pose significant safety risks to both property owners and City personnel, leading to contravention notices and service fees.

Understanding the City of Cape Town's Cash for Power Programme

The City of Cape Town's Cash for Power programme allows property owners with approved grid-tied Small-scale Embedded Generation (SSEG) systems to sell their surplus electricity back to the municipality. This initiative is designed to incentivise solar adoption and contribute to a more stable grid, especially in the context of load-shedding.

If your municipal account is regularly fully offset by the SSEG Feed-in Tariff from the excess generation you produce, you can apply to join the Cash for Power programme. This means that after your solar system meets your property's electricity needs, any additional power generated and fed into the grid can earn you credit or cash.

How the SSEG and Cash for Power Mechanism Works

Small-scale Embedded Generation (SSEG) refers to systems with a generation capacity smaller than 1 mega-volt ampere (MVA), such as rooftop solar PV. Since 1 October 2023, all new solar PV and/or battery systems in the City of Cape Town are treated as grid-tied. This means they must use City-approved inverters, have professional sign-off, and be authorised before they can be switched on. The City no longer accepts applications for standby and off-grid systems due to the risks they pose.

The Cash for Power programme builds on the SSEG framework. Once your SSEG system is approved and operational, any excess electricity you generate and export to the grid is measured by a bi-directional meter. This exported energy is then credited to your municipal account at a specific feed-in tariff rate, which includes a municipal incentive.

The credit earned can be used to offset your entire municipal account, not just the electricity portion. If your credits consistently exceed your total municipal bill, you become eligible to apply for cash payouts under the Cash for Power programme.

Cash for Power Programme Details and Application

The Cash for Power programme has specific eligibility criteria and payout structures for residential and commercial customers.

To apply for the Cash for Power programme, you must first have an approved SSEG system. Once your system is generating surplus electricity that consistently offsets your municipal account, you can email an Expression of Interest (EoI) to electricity.retail@capetown.gov.za. All applications for the programme are assessed annually.

The City will install a bi-directional meter at your own expense to accurately measure imported and exported electricity. You are also required to install the metering accommodation for this meter on the street-front property boundary.

SSEG Authorisation Process

The process for authorising an SSEG system in the City of Cape Town involves several steps, primarily conducted through the City's e-Services portal:

1. Online Registration: Register for or log in to e-Services.
2. Activate Service: Activate ‘Energy Services’ within your e-Services account.
3. Select Application: Choose ‘Energy Services Applications’.
4. Service Provider Registration: Electrical contractors and ECSA-registered professionals must complete a Service Provider Registration form before the SSEG application can be completed.
5. Proxy Authorisation: Property owners can grant another e-Services user, such as their installer, the ability to apply for authorisation on their behalf via the Grant Proxy Authorisation application.
6. SSEG Application Submission: The application requires technical details of the solar PV system, as well as the details of the Electrical Contractor and ECSA registered professional.
7. Permission to Install (PTI): Once submitted, a PTI letter will be emailed to you and available for download.
8. Installation & Sign-off: Your system may now be installed but must not be switched on. Once installed and signed-off, the Certificate of Compliance (CoC) and a signed Supplemental Contract must be uploaded. The ECSA-registered professional must then log in and sign-off the commissioning report.
9. Commissioning Letter: A Commissioning Letter will be emailed and available for download. You can then switch your system on.

Solar PV geysers must also be authorised and follow the online SSEG application process, but they do not require ECSA professional sign-off. Systems that do not require authorisation include solar water heaters (thermal), solar security/garden lights, and portable UPS trolley inverters that plug into a wall socket.

What you can change yourself, and what you cannot

As a property owner, you are responsible for initiating the SSEG application process and ensuring your system complies with City regulations. However, the installation, sign-off, and commissioning of a grid-tied solar PV system are not DIY tasks.

You cannot install or connect a grid-tied solar system to the municipal grid yourself. This work requires a qualified Electrical Contractor and an ECSA-registered professional. They are responsible for the technical details, ensuring compliance with NRS 097-2-1, and providing the Certificate of Compliance (CoC). Changing grid-protection settings on your inverter, for example, is strictly the domain of a registered professional.

The City of Cape Town explicitly states that property owners carry the responsibility for the safety of the electrical installation on their property, as per the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Unauthorised systems increase the risk of fire and other hazards, and can result in injury or death, especially if they feed onto the grid during a power outage. Non-compliant SSEG systems could electrocute City personnel if electricity feeds into a grid that is believed to be off. Poorly installed systems can also cause household fires, and insurers may not cover damages if the installation is not authorised.

If you are in Eskom's area of supply, you need to apply to Eskom for consent to connect the embedded generation to the electrical grid, not the City of Cape Town.

What the published sources do not tell you

While the City of Cape Town provides clear guidelines for its SSEG and Cash for Power programmes, some specific details are not fully elaborated in the publicly available documents. For instance, the exact "standard export tariff" rate, separate from the 25c/kWh incentive, is not explicitly stated; only the combined rate is provided.

The full terms and conditions of the "Supplemental Contract" required for sign-off are not detailed, nor is the precise "AMI Access fee" for commercial customers, which is stated to be quoted during the authorisation process. Detailed information on the "Non-residential SSEG tariff" and "Home User tariff" (beyond their names) is also not provided.

The process for the annual assessment of Cash for Power applications is not fully described, and while an "Approved Photovoltaic (PV) Inverter List" is referenced, only a snippet is included, not the full list of all approved inverters. For these specific details, direct inquiry with the City of Cape Town's electricity department may be necessary.