{"id":849096,"date":"2026-01-29T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=849096"},"modified":"2026-01-28T17:07:27","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T15:07:27","slug":"important-information-about-eskoms-warning-to-homeowners-with-rooftop-solar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/energy\/849096\/important-information-about-eskoms-warning-to-homeowners-with-rooftop-solar\/","title":{"rendered":"Important information about Eskom’s warning to homeowners with rooftop solar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has pushed back strongly against recent warnings from Eskom and several municipalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These warnings stressed that homeowners with rooftop solar could face fines or even disconnection if their systems are not registered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, OUTA has said that this approach is impractical, irrational and unfair, and is creating widespread confusion among households that have invested heavily in alternative energy solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OUTA said it received a surge of queries from concerned members of the public following threatening letters and public statements from Eskom and municipalities such as the City of Johannesburg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These communications have demanded that small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) systems, including residential solar installations under 100kW that do not feed electricity back into the grid, be registered or approved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The organisation believes this has caused unnecessary anxiety for homeowners, installers, financiers and insurers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is because some solar projects are now being delayed as stakeholders struggle to interpret shifting requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage noted that the situation strikes at the rights of citizens who turned to alternative energy out of necessity rather than choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He argued that households installed solar systems, inverters, gas appliances and generators in response to years of load shedding, rising electricity tariffs and repeated calls from Eskom and the government to reduce demand on the grid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In many cases, incentives were also offered to encourage this behaviour. Duvenage said it is deeply unfair for compliant consumers to now be treated as though they have done something wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The confusion has also begun to spill over into the financial sector. OUTA has cautioned banks and insurers against refusing to finance or insure residential solar installations because of uncertainty around registration rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Duvenage added that such decisions unfairly penalise responsible consumers and could slow down private investment in energy resilience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OUTA advised homeowners facing resistance to seek alternative finance or insurance providers, provided their systems are technically sound and backed by a valid Certificate of Compliance (CoC) issued by a qualified and registered electrician.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do not make rushed decisions out of fear<\/h2>\n\n\n
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OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Duvenage argued that what a homeowner does on their own property to reduce reliance on an unstable and expensive power supply is not the supplier\u2019s business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As long as the installation is safe and legally compliant, and the customer continues to pay their electricity bill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stressed that national legislation already regulates safety through the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Electrical Installation Regulations and the SANS 10142-1 standard, all of which require a valid CoC before a system is commissioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OUTA believes the recent wave of intimidating letters and public warnings amounts to coercive tactics designed to create fear and force unnecessary compliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Eskom has recently toned down talk of fines and disconnections, OUTA said this only highlights uncertainty within the authorities themselves and suggests potential legal stumbling blocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Duvenage has urged solar users not to panic or rush into registering their systems while the regulatory position remains unclear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stressed that OUTA is fully engaged with the issue, interrogating new requirements, challenging how they are being introduced and engaging with legal counsel and other stakeholders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mixed messages from Eskom and municipalities, including repeatedly softened or withdrawn threats, have only deepened confusion and anxiety, with knock-on effects for the broader solar industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Duvenage urged users not to make rushed decisions out of fear. OUTA said it will continue pushing for a rational, lawful and fair approach, and standing up for households that are being unfairly targeted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has advised Homeowners with rooftop solar not to make rushed decisions out of fear.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":849100,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9874],"tags":[1164,853,22224],"class_list":["post-849096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","tag-eskom","tag-south-africa","tag-the-organisation-undoing-tax-abuse-outa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=849096"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849096\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":849179,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849096\/revisions\/849179"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/849100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=849096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=849096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=849096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}