Good news for inverters, rooftop solar and batteries in South Africa

Banking group FNB says it will soon offer the government’s Energy Bounce Back (EBB) Loan Guarantee Scheme to individual customers to assist them with financing rooftop solar and energy storage at their homes.

The scheme was announced by National Treasury earlier this year and is administered by the South African Reserve Bank. The aim of the scheme is to help customers mitigate the impact of power supply challenges and load shedding by giving them easy access to financing at a lower interest rate.

The scheme is currently only available for commercial customers, but FNB said it will soon be extended to individual FNB and non-FNB customers alike.

The bank expects the loans to become available before the end of the year.

Businesses and commercial customers can take loan options between R10,000 and R10 million, while individuals will be limited to R3,000 to R300,000.

The loan for individuals is considered a personal loan and will initiated at a personalised interest rate, but once proof of use is verified – ie, the bank verifies it will be used for solar panels and related expenses like inverters – the rate will be dropped to prime plus 1%.

At current rates, this would be an interest rate of 12.75%.

Criteria for individuals include:

• The application is subject to FNB’s credit risk evaluation and processes.
• Apply for a personal loan at a personalised interest rate.
• After proof of use is verified, the interest rate is lowered to prime +1%, fixed for the term of personal loan.
• Individuals can take up a personal loan with a minimum of R3,000 up to R300,000.
• At least 90% of the funds must be used for solar panels and related expenses such as batteries, inverters.
• For individuals, back-up energy solutions won’t qualify for the benefit.
• Only one Energy Bounce Back loan can be taken by an individual customer.

Criteria for commercial customers include:

• The application is subject to FNB’s credit risk evaluation and processes.
• Businesses can access the scheme through FNB and WesBank asset-based finance.
• The loan options range from a minimum of R10,000 to a maximum of R10 million.
• Any business with a maximum turnover of R300 million per annum can apply.
• Customers can settle the loan early and pay no penalty fees.
• No deposit is required.
• Only one active Energy Bounce Back Loan can be allocated at a time.
• The loan cannot be used to pay back existing debt.

“We are encouraged by the progress made with National Treasury and expect that we will soon be able to offer our individual customers access to the Energy Bounce Back Loan before the end of the year,” FNB said.

“Our business clients can access the offer immediately off the back of the first bounce-back offering.”

FNB said that only one bounce-back loan per individual is permitted, but it can work alongside its other solar financing options, such as the range of mitigation solutions available on the Nav>> app.

Read: South African households are beating Eskom at its own game with rooftop solar