Eskom coming after South Africans with solar panels
Eskom’s fixed charge on households, as well as those that have invested in rooftop solar but remain connected to the national grid is unfair.
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has criticised this, calling it irrational and self-defeating and warning that it could backfire badly for both the power utility and the government.
Power and energy expert, Vally Padayachee, a former Eskom and City Power executive previously explained that this fixed levy means that solar users who remain connected to the national grid will be charged a fixed network maintenance fee regardless of how much or how little electricity they draw.
“Well, first they asked us to save power, then told us to get solar. Now they want to charge us for it,” said Duvenage, voicing the growing frustration among South Africans who have made personal investments to reduce pressure on the grid.
Duvenage and other critics argue that it penalises proactive citizens helping stabilise the country’s fragile electricity system.
Duvenage explained that many solar users still rely on the grid to some extent, especially at night or during extended periods of cloud cover. However, an added fixed charge could push these users to make the final move off-grid entirely.
“If that’s the case, they’ll think: let me just get a loan for R20,000, pay it off over the next 20 months, and go off-grid fully,” Duvenage said.
“There are other technologies that will help people and businesses do that. All Eskom’s doing here is chasing away an element that brings them revenue. It’s a self-defeating spiral in the wrong direction.”
The solar surcharge is a symptom of a bigger crisis
Experts have argued that the grid still needs to be maintained, even for minimal users, and that the surcharge helps cover those infrastructure costs. However, Duvenage rejected this justification as inconsistent and unfairly targeted.
“That should apply to everyone, whether you’re a minimal or a maximum user,” he said.
“So what you’re saying to people with solar is, we’re going to charge you more because you’ve reduced your reliance on Eskom.”
The issue also ties into the broader failure of infrastructure governance at the municipal level, where local governments collect surcharges from electricity users.
Duvenage said these funds are often misused instead of being reinvested in critical infrastructure upgrades.
“Local government should be spending around 8% of its budget on maintaining and upgrading infrastructure. In Johannesburg, we spend less than 1%. The revenue doesn’t go where it should,” he added.
He believes the root of the problem lies in the lack of professionalism and expertise in local government. “You cannot have people in charge of complex portfolios who don’t understand what they’re doing.”
“You’d never run a private business like that. Yet we have municipalities with multi-billion-rand budgets being run by people who don’t have the required financial or technical knowledge.”
He cited examples such as municipalities without a Chief Financial Officer, or agencies lowering qualification standards for leadership positions to allow political appointees through the door.
“The politics is overpowering the administration. That’s the problem. You need to professionalise local government. It’s that simple,” he said.
Duvenage added that the fixed charge is another symptom of a bigger crisis in governance and public trust.
“Punishing those trying to be part of the solution is hardly a sustainable fix. If Eskom and municipalities want to remain relevant and financially viable, they should enable the energy transition, not penalise it.”
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