Lets do it right and register our solar installtion.

[Isetech]

I dont think the public are aware of what is coming and the longer it takes for it to come into effect, the bigger ther bang is going to be.

I have been trying to register systrems since January 2023, still not one is registered, some compaies ar erunning into the hundreds.

Just image if you have installed 150 units and they decide to charge installers for connecting the SSEG to the grid without registeration.

People thing this is a silly thing which will just go away in time.

What people dont undestand is there is records of everything, invoices, COC's , in the inverter, servers around the world recording, apps, google maps, electricity accounts, it goes on and on and on. You think doing a factor yreset to delte everything weill delete everything, I am just going to smile and say, thank goodness I have only completed a handful of them.

This registration thing is scary. Tried to get info and no avail.

The bylaws in the city of Joburg mention nothing.

How I see it and probably wrong is they can not go back in time to fine if it was not in place before.

If it comes to me on the line for all this I will have to shut shop as I don't have funds for any of that.

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[Isetech]

Acting dumb and saying you weren't aware of the SSEG registration is certainly not going to work in your favour.

As someone mentioned to me yesterday, "but the council dont share any info" just smile and say ok. I would suggest if you are that ignorant, best you use google or follow one of the links attached, its all there, trying to register well maybe we can use that as defence.

https://economic.durban.gov.za/storage/Documents/Service%20Tariffs/Electricity%20Tariffs/Tariffs%202022%20-%202023/Tarrif%20Booklet%202022-2023.pdf

Hold your ankles ans reach fo the vaseline it, you going to need it, its coming

[Dylboy]

I know of 2 people who have installed over 150 systems, one is Sunsynk alone and the other Luxpower.

I have done a handful and it scares me to no end.

Don't know what to do other than wait.

If I shut shop who knows what that would entail and how much of the hook still on...



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[Isetech]

We are gearing up to install 3 per week in the begining and 5 per week once we get settled.

Some might say but the craze is already turning to a frizzle, hence the specials (even though the exchange rate hasnt come down) and warehouses full of stock, notices to inform you to collect within 48hrs. wholesaler which might have over odered thinking the stock shortage would give them the edge, now they trying to dump product at prices lower than installers can buy.

I beleive it is just a matter of time and you going t osee a lot of business closing down, unless eskom play their part and ramp up the load shedding stages.

The EV roll out is going to take too long for it to save the solar industry for now. It going to happen and sooner than we think, that is going to create panic again as the infrastructure buckles under the additional power demand.

So its not all doom and gloom, if you can hold out for the dips. I have just been crusing along since 2008 when load shedding started, when the demand for generators where the craze, we installed our fair share, now wit hthe solar systems, we saw the wriitng on the wall and made sure we were ready in June last year.

[Isetech]

Dave, what happened with the ECA and discussions with Ethekwini ? Are they going t ocome to the party and gear up to tackle the influx of registrations?

Dylboy, this is why it might not be a bad idea to be an ECA member you might need the legal support. There is going to see a huge influx of ECA registration if the brown stuff gets into the fan blades .

[Dylboy]

Not a bad idea, I have the form and need to start filling it in and pay the amount and I think they do some checks and balances. Fortunately I am also insured so let's add to the armoury.

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[Dylboy]

Spoken with a couple of installers and one that has done 150 plus of them and none of them have registered or know how to even.

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[Isetech]

I dont think anyone knows what WTF is going on and how they are going to tackle this country wide fisco, if an organised council like cape town are struggling to get registrations done, imagine what an absolute nightmare it will become if they do try disconnect homes.

I think the way they are dealing with it at the moment, so long as you dont expect them to reduce your monthly elctricity bill, and allow them to just keep charging you the estimated rate from before you installed your system, they dont loose money and you get t okeep the lights on.

The challenge however is for people who have installed solar to reduce their elctricty bill and get some form of ROI, that is where the fight is going to start.

[Isetech]

Anyone have the number on how many solar systems have been sold in SA and how many are registered and how many are not registered, this would give you an idea of how massive this problem has become.

At the rate things are going I can see more and more people preparing for off grid, just in case. If the council does try cut the supply, it wont affect them that much.

I have notice a move away from the little 5 kw inverter/5 kwh battery and 6 solar panels, to keep the lights on and the elctrnocs around the house, to the bigger 8 kw/12 aqnd 16 kw with 10kwh + batteries and 12+ solar panels (this is why we stepping up our game).

We are also gearing up our customer to have a plug below the inverter for easy connection for a generator, we will be building generator trailers which can be delivered to site full of fuel and suitable sized for the inverter and battery arrangement. We doing this already, but its a mission to load them on and off the vehcile and link them for a day or two.

[Justloadit]

Talking about generators, there may be an issue with the inverters, which are not happy with the quality of the voltage and frequency the generator provides to the inverter.

If you have a ESKOM/Generator changeover switch to your inverter as an alternative Mains incoming supply.
You then hear the inverter relay kicking the supply in and out as it struggles with attempting to provide the system off the generator, and will also not charge your battery if you wish to do so by selecting the mains charge timers.

I have found a setting on the Deye 5.5kW inverter, if you go to settings and select the generator screen, you can set up that the generator is the incoming supply, and the inverter then becomes happy, runs your loads and charges your battery.
When Eskom returns, simply disable the Generator as the source.

Not sure if the Sunsync has this feature.

[Dave A]

Dave, what happened with the ECA and discussions with Ethekwini ? Are they going t ocome to the party and gear up to tackle the influx of registrations?

At the Durban branch meeting, a couple of ex-municipal inspectors put their hand up to find the right person to talk to as our RD was getting nowhere. Contact has been made and it is agreed that a small delegation will meet with Ethekwini representation to discuss the issue. Date yet to be set, though.

At that same meeting, only one person reported having got a domestic rooftop PV installation "registered", and it really sounded like it only happened at all because he's one of those said ex-municipal inspectors. He called a mate at Ethekwini, who came and had a look at the installation, and apparently that was that - all sorted.

I wasn't going to push for me to be on the delegation and was going to leave it to the technical experts. But the more I hear and read as to how there doesn't seem to be a functional process in place, the more I think I probably should go.

[Isetech]

We can confirm that if you live in Durban and supplied by Ethekwini electricity department, there is no registration proccess in place and the website is actually false information being shared with the public?

No need to panic and no need to be concened about fines or being disconnected.

[Dave A]

We can confirm...

At this point we can confirm nothing
Once there is a meeting with the Ethekwini officials, there may be more definitive news to share.

[Isetech]

So long as they go come out the gates at a full gallop, threatening huges fines and disconnection notices for the next 5 years.

For many they are just happy to have a solution to load shedding, however many have spent a little more and gone the full hog, and not expect some form of ROI for the additonal power they are feeding bacxk to asssit the grid.

Some people were told that if they had a meter with a disk they could reduce the bill by making the meter spin backwards, which would reduce in their monthly bill, thats just anothe rmyth. MAybe a year or 2 ago, before the council started flagging larger than normal reduction in the elctricity account.

You may get some relief from those inflated bills when they dont read your meter for a couple of months then suddenly, they rea dit and you get a nasty R10 000.00 figure added to your elctricity account for an actual reading, so it is not all doomamd gloom.

The question is what is the solution going forward, apply for a prepaid meter, which will reduce you monthly fee, allow you to manage your usage more acurately, maybe not, that could take more than 12 months from the date of application if you lucky.

If you planing to install solar, take note, there is a lot more to consider than just dodgy suppliers, installers, product support, warranties, safe lithium batteries installation location, pemanant neutral/earth bond or relay , how many circuits are identified in a DB, if are they bonding/grounding or earthing or installing lightning protection for your system, intial and supplimentary COC's, registration of your SSEG, feeddabck tarrifs, fines, disconnection threats, etc etc etc etc etc.

As you can see by this post, when it comes to solar, you stepping into a mine field of the unkown, just pay, smile and hope for the best.

There is a positive side to it, once installed it will become the talk of all social gatherings the app will keep your mind off all the challenges for a few months and you can boast who has the biggest most efficient sytem. Yip I am not joking, those days of going to the garage to show off your new sports car are a thing of the past. Now you man hood is measured by your backup system

At the Durban branch meeting, a couple of ex-municipal inspectors put their hand up to find the right person to talk to as our RD was getting nowhere. Contact has been made and it is agreed that a small delegation will meet with Ethekwini representation to discuss the issue. Date yet to be set, though.

At that same meeting, only one person reported having got a domestic rooftop PV installation "registered", and it really sounded like it only happened at all because he's one of those said ex-municipal inspectors. He called a mate at Ethekwini, who came and had a look at the installation, and apparently that was that - all sorted.

I wasn't going to push for me to be on the delegation and was going to leave it to the technical experts. But the more I hear and read as to how there doesn't seem to be a functional process in place, the more I think I probably should go.

[Isetech]

Lets hope it doesnt happen in the next 5 years

At this point we can confirm nothing
Once there is a meeting with the Ethekwini officials, there may be more definitive news to share.