Connecting to the grid and Municipal electrical bylaws

[Tradie]

If you are an electrical contractor and decide, backup systems are the way to go, but you are not interested in reading any of the supplier requirements or bylaws, I would suggest you take the time and do some research.

I thought, the electrical installation is not my responsibility (as per SANS regulations) , but rather the owner, user and everyone else, and if the customer chooses not to register their SSEG, not my problem. I would suggest you read your local suppliers bylaws, let me know how that goes.

It might not be a bad idea to take the time to read the alternate supply test report, before you sign it, especially if you have at some point installed and connected inverters that might not be NRS compliant to the electrical installation which is connected to the local municipality.

These comments apply to municipalities that are using the NRS standards and have electrical bylaws.

If you are connected to Eskom, you need to comply with Eskom bylaws.

[Tradie]

Planning to install solar and feel that you can ignore your local municipality bylaws? (best you get a copy and read them)

Just like your building, you cannot go wild and just add an SSEG without taking note of the bylaws:

NOTICE OF INTENTION TO ALTER OR ADD TO EXISTING ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION 4. Before making any alteration or addition to any electrical installation installed within the area of the supply that requires an increase in electricity supply capacity, or an alteration to the service, the electrical contractor shall give notice to the Engineer of his intentions in accordance with the Electrical Installation Regulations.

For those who think they are going to ignore the bylaws, thinking the person responsible for the installation (user/owner) is responsible for the SSEG registration, best you dont sign a COC and add alternate supply test reports (once again best you read the alternate test report doing the rounds before putting pen to paper)

For the record, for those who feel the Sun is free and there fore you dont have to register, maybe you should take the time to do a little research into why it is necessary to register all SSEG's, especially ones that feedback into the grid and why certain inverters and batteries are not NRS 097 compliant, the dangers it it poses for electricians working on the lines.

The impact on the grid when you feel the need to charge your batteries at full capacity, using grid power to charge.

Do I agree with the registration process, yes I do, do I agree I agree with the manner in which it is being implemented, of course not.

Load shedding is taking break, which means people are now focusing on tweaking systems to reduce electricity bills and maximising ROI, however registering a system that has way more capacity than demand, would require a metering solution that would reward customers for assisting with power gernation, not restrict them by blocking them from feedback into the grid, due to a lack of the correct meters.

Smart solutions will help to get the best out of your system but it is impossible to get the full potential, which is why that little feedback buffer will certainly help, even if it is just to cover the fee charged for the SSEG.

We aim for electricity bills to be under R500 per month, which is not that difficult, with proper planning.

[Tradie]

Take note of section 4 - Inspection and tests (new and existing installations)

item 2 - Supplier bylaws and requirements adhere to ... if you tick no, the COC is non complaint, if you tick yes and you haven't registered the SSEG or at least notified the supplier, you will be liable, not the owner, or should I say the owner is just going to flip it around and say that they hired your professional services to make sure that you tick all the boxes.

I dont want to be the installer on the day the council arrives at the property on the day they arrive to switch off your power due to non compliance, it might still take a while because I dont believe they can force any bylaws until they have all their ducks in a row and enough meters to handle the demand, once the ball start rolling.

[Dave A]

Just like your building, you cannot go wild and just add an SSEG without taking note of the bylaws:

NOTICE OF INTENTION TO ALTER OR ADD TO EXISTING ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION 4. Before making any alteration or addition to any electrical installation installed within the area of the supply that requires an increase in electricity supply capacity, or an alteration to the service, the electrical contractor shall give notice to the Engineer of his intentions in accordance with the Electrical Installation Regulations.

And if the alteration to the electrical installation does not require an alteration to the electrical supply or service on the part of the supply authority, do you still have to give notification?

[Tradie]

You need to read the wording carefully, and understand how the alteration is going to affect the supply.

An example. 10 people add inverters which only work as a backup, like a UPS, and they all set the battery charge rate to 100 %, you have a power failure, when the power switches back on, all those units will affect the grid, so would each one of them need to notify the council, yes they would.

Ther are so many variables, I will try go into more detail when I get a gap.

I am not expert in load management or council services, just sharing my opinion, so feel free set the record straight.

And if the alteration to the electrical installation does not require an alteration to the electrical supply or service on the part of the supply authority, do you still have to give notification?