Registering rooftop solar in South Africa

The short answer

If your solar system is connected to the grid, South African rules say it must be registered with the business that supplies your electricity: Eskom or your municipality. In February 2026 NERSA, the energy regulator, confirmed this for grid-connected systems of up to 100 kW. Off-grid systems with no connection point are exempt.

Eskom has said it will not fine or disconnect anyone only for not registering, and it has waived its registration fees for qualifying systems until further notice. Municipalities each set their own process and charges, and some are adding monthly fees for homes with solar.

Rules are moving quickly. This page reflects what Eskom, NERSA and the press had published by 2 November 2026. Check with your supply authority before you act.

Who has to register

NERSA's February 2026 statement sets the test as two things: whether the system has a point of connection to the grid, and its installed capacity. Whether you export power back to the grid does not matter.

Published copies of the NERSA statement word the threshold slightly differently ("100 kW or less" and "less than 100 kW"). If your system is exactly 100 kW, ask your distributor which applies.

A hybrid inverter wired into your distribution board and fed from the grid normally has a point of connection, so it counts as grid-connected even if it never feeds power back.

Is there a fine for not registering?

Press reports during 2026 warned of fines between R6 000 and R30 000 for unregistered systems. In August 2026 an Eskom spokesperson told the press that Eskom would not fine customers or disconnect them solely because their system is not registered. Energy commentators have also questioned whether Eskom has the legal power to fine anyone.

Two things have not gone away:

• Unsafe installations. Eskom has said it can still disconnect a solar or battery installation it considers unsafe. A valid Certificate of Compliance is your protection here.
• Municipal by-laws. Municipalities write their own rules. A municipality can set an application fee, a monthly charge for customers with solar, and its own penalties, subject to NERSA approving its tariffs.

What registration costs

Eskom-direct customers. On 30 September 2026 Eskom extended its waiver of registration-related charges for eligible customer-owned systems of up to 50 kVA connected directly to its network. The waiver now runs until further notice. Registration itself is still required. In March 2026 Eskom described the waived costs as up to R10 000 for urban and residential customers and up to R36 000 for rural customers, including a smart meter.

Municipal customers. The Eskom waiver does not apply. Your municipality sets its own fees. Two examples show how far apart they can be:

Both rows come from press reports linked at the end of the page. We have not seen the municipalities' own tariff documents, so confirm current charges with the municipality.

Ermelo and Msukaligwa. We could not find a published solar registration process or fee schedule on Msukaligwa Local Municipality's website as of 2 November 2026. If the municipality supplies your electricity, ask its electrical department what it requires.

What you need to register

1. Find out who supplies you. Look at who sends your electricity account. Eskom account: register with Eskom. Municipal account: register with the municipality.
2. Get the Certificate of Compliance. Issued by a registered electrician for the installation. Eskom also asks for an inverter test certificate and a test report.
3. Fill in the supplier's application. Eskom publishes its small-scale embedded generation application form online. Since late 2025 Eskom has accepted sign-off by a person registered with the Department of Employment and Labour instead of requiring a professional engineer.
4. Keep copies. Your insurer may ask for the Certificate of Compliance after a claim, and a buyer will ask for it when you sell the house.

Installing a new system?

Registration rules depend on who supplies your electricity, so we work through what applies to your supply point as part of the project. Every installation is tested, commissioned and handed over with a Certificate of Compliance, which is the document registration starts from.

Why everyone is searching for this

Over the 12 months to 1 November 2026, searches such as "Eskom rooftop solar registration deadline", "South Africa solar panel fines" and "rooftop solar tax" were among the fastest-rising solar searches in South Africa on Google Trends. Searches for "Emfuleni solar installation levy" rose from almost nothing. The deadline, the fine reports and the municipal levies all landed in the same few months.

Sources

1. NERSA media statement: NERSA clarifies small-scale embedded generation regulations (February 2026), via SAnews
2. Eskom: registration-fee waiver extended beyond 30 September 2026 for systems up to 50 kVA (30 September 2026)
3. Eskom: registration fee waiver extended by six months (March 2026)
4. Eskom: simplified solar system compliance, sign-off by a Department of Employment and Labour registered person
5. Eskom: small-scale embedded generators, application forms
6. BusinessTech: Eskom says it will not fine or disconnect customers only for not registering (August 2026)
7. BusinessTech: Eskom says it can still disconnect installations it considers unsafe (September 2026)
8. BusinessTech: Thaba Chweu solar charges approved in NERSA tariff decision, AfriForum letter of demand (4 September 2026)
9. The Citizen (Sedibeng Ster): Emfuleni council approves proposed solar charges in principle (15 June 2026)
10. Google Trends, South Africa, related rising queries for "solar", 12 months to 1 November 2026