South Africa

How the South African market works

South Africa's households are supplied either directly by Eskom or by a municipality that buys power from Eskom. The two have different tariffs and different registration processes. Eskom's own summary of its 2026/27 increase says direct customers pay 8.76% more from 1 April 2026, while municipalities, which buy from Eskom, pass on 9.01% from 1 July 2026 (Eskom: 2026/27 tariff increase). Your municipality may also add its own charges, so your bill is not the same as Eskom's published tariff.

Load shedding is the scheduled national rotation of blackouts, and the outlook has improved. Eskom's winter outlook for 1 April to 31 August 2026 projected no load shedding, and its statement of 26 June 2026 reported 406 days without it (Eskom statement, 26 June 2026). By 4 August 2026 the count was 441 consecutive days, with demand met 100% of the time from 1 April to 30 July 2026 (SAnews: Eskom reports 441 days without load shedding).

A separate issue is load reduction, a temporary cut in high-risk areas that Eskom ties mainly to illegal connections and meter tampering. Eskom says 1.196 million of 1.69 million customers have been removed from load reduction schedules (about 70.8%) and aims to eliminate it nationwide by 2027 (SAnews). Faults, theft and storms can also interrupt supply, and we found no official figure for how often that happens in a given suburb. Ask your neighbours and your supplier what your own area experiences.

That is why this page treats tariffs and backup as two different reasons to buy. Our guides on how a home battery saves money and what size home battery you need explain the arithmetic.

Eskom tariffs: Homepower and Homeflex

For 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, Eskom's tariff booklet lists Homepower as a single-rate tariff with an energy charge of 322.06 cents per kWh (VAT included), and Homeflex as a time-of-use tariff for customers with grid-tied generation or those who opt in. On Homeflex the high-demand season runs 1 June to 31 August and the low-demand season 1 September to 31 May. Winter peak is 847.10 cents per kWh, winter standard 259.19 cents per kWh, and off-peak 190.83 cents per kWh in both seasons. In the low-demand season peak is 394.55 cents per kWh and standard 245.51 cents per kWh (Eskom tariff booklet 2026/27).

These are the energy charges only. The booklet also lists daily charges for network capacity, service and administration and generation capacity, and further per-kWh charges, which differ by connection size. One third-party summary of the booklet gives a different winter standard rate, so use the Eskom document or your latest bill for exact figures. We could not find the peak, standard and off-peak hours on the page we could read.

The pattern is what matters for a battery. A battery that charges when power costs about 190 cents and discharges during the peak can avoid the expensive hours, which is the basis of any tariff saving. The gap is largest in winter. Nothing in the booklet guarantees how long this pattern will last, since tariffs are reset every year.

Eskom's page also says the fixed part of the service and administration charge on Homepower and Homeflex rose to 66.66% of the originally proposed value, up from 33.33%, with energy rates reduced so the overall increase is unchanged (Eskom: 2026/27 tariff increase). A larger fixed charge means a smaller share of your bill can be avoided by using less grid energy, so a battery saves proportionally less. Be honest about this when you read a quote: the saving is limited by what you actually use in the expensive hours.

Municipalities and selling power back

Because municipalities set their own rules, there is no single South African answer on export credits. Eskom's Homeflex tariff includes net billing: customers get a credit for exported energy, up to their consumption in each time-of-use period, and the credit excludes part of the generation capacity and service charges built into the energy rate (Eskom tariff booklet). We could not read the Gen-Offset credit table, so we state no export price for Eskom.

The City of Cape Town runs a scheme it calls Cash for Power. Its page lists a residential credit of 92.13 cents per kWh plus an incentive of 25 cents per kWh, credited to your municipal account, and says residential payouts are made once a year when the credit exceeds R1,000. You need an approved grid-tied feed-in system, your account must be regularly fully offset by your excess generation, and applications are assessed annually. You must also pay for a bi-directional meter. The page gives no effective date for the rates, so check it before you rely on them (City of Cape Town: sell surplus SSEG energy).

Cape Town also restricts which inverters it accepts. In 2023 the city said that from October only city-approved inverters would be accepted for solar and battery systems connected to a building's wiring, that installers must provide a Certificate of Compliance, and that systems must be registered with the city before installation. Plug-in inverters that connect to wall sockets are excluded and treated as electrical appliances (Polity: only approved inverters to be accepted from October). That article is from 2023, so confirm the current list with the city.

We did not check the export rules of Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, eThekwini, Nelson Mandela Bay or other municipalities, and we found no verified national feed-in tariff for households. Ask your municipality for its SSEG rules and export credit in writing before you buy a system sized for export.

Registering your system (SSEG)

Small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) is the term for rooftop solar and similar systems. Eskom says grid-connected generation up to 100 kW must be registered with the licensed distributor, which is Eskom or a municipality, and larger facilities register with NERSA. Systems with no grid connection are not subject to the requirement (SolarQuarter: Eskom extends the fee waiver). NERSA says the test is whether the system has a grid connection point and its capacity, not whether it exports (Creamer Media: NERSA clarifies registration requirements).

To register with Eskom, a customer submits a Certificate of Compliance, an inverter test certificate and a test report for the installation. A person registered with the Department of Employment and Labour can also sign off these systems (Eskom, 26 March 2026). Engineering News reported that Eskom dropped the earlier requirement for a qualified engineer's sign-off, so that accredited electricians can do it instead (Engineering News: OUTA welcomes the simpler Eskom regulation).

Registration is free for most households for now. Eskom's registration-related fee waiver covers systems up to 50 kVA connected to its network, including a free smart meter worth up to R10,000 (urban and residential) and up to R36,000 (rural), and was extended to 30 September 2026 in March 2026 (Eskom, 26 March 2026). Eskom's statement of 30 September 2026 extended it until further notice, which is not a fixed end date. It applies only to customers supplied directly by Eskom, and registration itself is still required (Eskom, 30 September 2026; SolarQuarter). Eskom's earlier pages use 50 kVA in one place and 50 kW in another, so ask which applies.

Adding a battery later is a change to the installation. One installer guide says Eskom expects you to notify it of battery additions, which require an amended application (SurgePV: Eskom SSEG registration), but that is a vendor guide with no official source, so we treat it as unconfirmed. Ask your supplier whether a battery counts as a change.

Eskom also says residential customers can install rooftop solar and stay on prepaid metering, an option still being tested with a wider rollout planned (Eskom, 26 March 2026). Eskom's 2025 registration page says a registered customer is moved to the Homeflex tariff (Eskom: solar registration fees), so work out what that does to your bill before you register.

Fines, disconnection and the registration dispute

In early 2026 Eskom and some municipalities pressed residential customers to register rooftop solar and battery systems by 31 March 2026 (Daily Maverick: demand for re-registration; Green Building Africa: Eskom urges registration). The Daily Maverick author argued that registration is about moving customers onto time-of-use tariffs, and that Eskom has no statutory power to fine customers for not registering. That is an opinion, not a legal ruling.

Reports also circulated of fines of R6,000 to R30,000 for unregistered systems. SolarQuarter reported on 17 August 2026 that Eskom said it would not penalise or disconnect a household solely because it had not completed registration, and the same report says some experts question Eskom's legal authority to do either (SolarQuarter: Eskom clarifies no fines or disconnections). We found only a secondary report of this statement. An Engineering News headline of 10 September 2026 says Eskom insists it can cut off a system for being unsafe, but we could not read the article.

OUTA, the civil action group, takes the position that a system with a valid CoC that blocks exports, or whose owner does not want compensation for exports, may skip distributor registration, while a system that imports and exports, or whose owner wants compensation, should register (OUTA: SSEG frequently asked questions). That is OUTA's view, and Eskom's stated position and NERSA's are broader (see the section above).

Our advice is practical, not legal. Register unless you have taken proper legal advice, because registration is free for most households for now and unregistered grid-connected systems can bring trouble with your supplier, your insurer or a future buyer. Keep your CoC, the registration confirmation and your installer's paperwork together.

Standards, the Certificate of Compliance and NRS 097-2-1

A Certificate of Compliance is the legal proof that the electrical installation in a building is safe. Eskom says a CoC confirms electrical safety, while registration gives the distributor information on the location, technology and capacity of connected generation (SolarQuarter: Eskom extends the fee waiver). OUTA's energy adviser describes the CoC as issued by an accredited installation electrician or electrical contractor registered with the Department of Employment and Labour, and says a sign-off by an ECSA-registered engineer is not a substitute unless that person is also an accredited electrician (OUTA). Engineering News reported that the CoC framework under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, together with the SANS 10142-1 wiring code, is used for sign-off (Engineering News).

NRS 097-2-1 is the standard for connecting embedded generation to the grid. Eskom's registration material asks for an inverter type-test certificate to NRS 097-2-1 (Green Building Africa). One vendor guide lists protection settings such as frequency and voltage limits, but it says itself that these are unverified, so we state no settings. Ask the installer to confirm in writing that the inverter appears on your supplier's accepted list, or that its type-test certificate has been supplied.

We could not confirm which edition of each standard is currently in force, because the SABS and NRS pages did not load. Ask your installer to name the editions it has applied. We also could not confirm any official rule on where in a building a battery may be placed. SANS 10142-1 is the general wiring code, and a vendor guide mentions fire separation and temperature limits without citing a regulation, so we state no location rule.

The SAPVIA PV GreenCard is a separate document. It is an as-built report for the installation and is issued in addition to the CoC, not instead of it (SAPVIA: PV GreenCard). We found no source saying it is a legal requirement.

Tax: the 25% solar rebate has ended

SARS describes a rebate of 25% of the cost of new, unused solar PV panels, up to R15,000 per taxpayer, available for panels first brought into use between 1 March 2023 and 29 February 2024 (SARS: what is the solar tax benefit?). SARS says the credit applies to the 2024 year of assessment only. We found no extension.

It never covered batteries. SARS lists batteries, inverters, fittings, installation costs, diesel generators and portable panels as not qualifying. Each panel had to have a minimum capacity of 275 W, connect to the distribution board of a residence you mainly use for domestic purposes, and be backed by a CoC, a VAT invoice listing the panel cost separately and proof of payment (SARS: how does the solar rebate work?).

Businesses had a separate deduction. Engineering News reported that businesses could deduct 125% of the cost of qualifying renewable energy assets brought into use up to 28 February 2025, after which the deduction reverts to 100% (Engineering News: enhanced deduction). The same article says the individual credit is no longer available and does not mention batteries. We did not verify whether a home office or rental property could qualify for a business deduction, so ask a tax adviser.

We found no current personal tax incentive, grant or subsidy for a household battery. If a seller or installer tells you otherwise, ask for the law or the SARS page in writing.

VAT, import duties and product approvals

SARS states that VAT is levied at the standard rate of 15% on the supply of goods and services by registered vendors, and that some supplies are zero-rated or exempt (SARS: value-added tax). We found no zero-rating for home batteries, so assume 15% VAT on a quote unless it says otherwise, and ask your installer to show VAT line by line.

The import side is moving. In a notice gazetted on 27 March 2026 the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) preliminarily recommended raising the customs duty on fully assembled lithium-ion batteries (tariff heading 8507.60) from free to the WTO bound rate of 15% through a new subheading, with comments due in about four weeks (ITAC notice 3864 of 2026). The industry body SABMA has asked for cells to stay duty-free (CESA: SABMA on import duties and content rules). A trade site reported that, as of 13 September 2026, the SARS tariff book still listed heading 8507.60 as duty-free and that no start date had been published (Energybee); we found no final determination. Imported batteries also carry import VAT. Energybee estimated a retail price rise of roughly 9% to 15% if the duty takes effect, which is one site's estimate, not an official figure.

The same article says the government is preparing local content designations for renewable energy components, including batteries, for public-sector tenders. We found nothing on whether this affects private buyers.

On approvals, the NRCS lists compulsory specifications for items such as plugs, circuit breakers, earth leakage units and household appliances, and each listed product needs a Letter of Authority (Safe House SA: regulation of electrical products). That page does not mention lithium batteries, inverters or power stations. We could not confirm whether batteries, solar inverters or portable power stations need NRCS approval, because the NRCS and SABS pages did not load. Ask your supplier for the NRCS Letter of Authority or a written statement that none applies.

Fire safety and insurance

Fire is the risk that insurers talk about most. Fire Force, a partnership between Discovery Insure and Fire Ops SA, says solar-related fires make up 1 in 4 of the structural fires it responds to, and cites Statistics South Africa's 2025 General Household Survey for about 675,000 homes with solar. The article, published on 9 September 2026, lists ageing or faulty batteries, inverter faults, loose wiring and poor installation as causes (Insurancebiz: 1 in 4 structural fires are now solar-related). Those are the insurer's figures from its own call-outs, not a national statistic.

Its advice is practical: use a reputable specialist and a registered electrician, insist on a valid CoC and not just a certificate of completion, and have the system inspected at least yearly. Investigate swelling batteries, heat, smells, noises and error messages. Keep batteries and inverters well ventilated and away from vehicles, fuel and combustibles, and install smoke detectors near the equipment. It also warns that lithium-ion fires behave differently from ordinary fires, with intense heat, toxic gases and possible reignition, and that homeowners should not try to fight them themselves.

A CoC at installation is not a guarantee. The same article describes a post-fire inspection that still found serious faults although the family had a valid CoC.

We did not find a South African source setting out how each insurer treats batteries. Tell your insurer in writing before and after installation, and ask whether the battery location, the installer and the CoC affect your cover. Also check the battery warranty: it may require a qualified installer and a certain location.

Choosing an installer

The legal minimum is a CoC from an electrician or electrical contractor registered with the Department of Employment and Labour, which is the point on which both OUTA and Discovery Insure agree. Ask to see the registration and check it yourself. A company that quotes cheaply and cannot issue a CoC is a risk to your insurance and to any future sale of the house.

SAPVIA runs the PV GreenCard programme, which registers installers on its platform and issues an as-built report for each installation. The report is issued in addition to the CoC (SAPVIA: PV GreenCard). We could not verify SAPVIA's membership numbers or how many installers hold the card, and we found no source saying that the card is mandatory. Treat it as a quality signal, not a licence.

ECSA is the Engineering Council of South Africa. A registered engineer can design a system, but OUTA's adviser says an engineer's sign-off is not a substitute for the CoC unless that person is also an accredited electrician. We did not check how ECSA registration applies to residential work.

Get at least three written quotes. Each should name the battery and inverter models, the usable kWh, the backup circuits, the warranty terms, who registers the system with Eskom or your municipality, who supplies the CoC and the commissioning report, and the VAT. Our guide on how to choose a home battery has the full checklist, and installing a battery outside covers the location question.

Portable power stations versus a home battery

Many South Africans buy a portable power station first, and the reasons are clear: there is no installer, no CoC, no registration and no wait. A portable power station is a battery with sockets that you plug appliances into. It can keep a router, lights, a laptop or a fridge running through a cut. It is not wired to the distribution board, it does not switch over automatically, and it cannot shift your usage to cheap hours or earn from the grid.

A wired home battery is a different product. It connects through an inverter to the distribution board, is installed by a registered electrician, needs a CoC and, if it is connected to the grid, registration with Eskom or your municipality. NERSA says registration depends on a grid connection point and capacity, and that systems without a grid connection are exempt (Creamer Media: NERSA clarifies registration requirements). We could not find a source that says how a portable unit that you charge from a wall socket is treated, so we cannot say. Cape Town treats plug-in inverters that connect to wall sockets as electrical appliances (Polity), which hints at the same logic, but that article does not mention power stations.

Safety applies to both. The fire advice in the previous section is about home systems, but the same lithium-ion behaviour applies to a power station: keep it ventilated and away from combustibles, do not charge it unattended or near exits, replace anything that swells, and do not try to fight a lithium fire yourself (Insurancebiz). We could not confirm whether portable power stations need NRCS approval, so ask the seller for the paperwork, and check that your home insurance does not exclude them. We do not recommend brands on this page. Our guide on portable power stations and plug-in batteries compares the two types.

Choose a power station if you want short, flexible backup for a few devices and can live with plugging them in. Choose a wired battery if you want whole-home or circuit backup that switches over by itself, a time-of-use saving on a tariff such as Homeflex, or a system that also uses solar. With load shedding largely absent for now, check which of the two problems you are solving before you spend.

Outside South Africa

Rules, tariffs and incentives for home batteries differ from country to country, so do not apply the figures on this page to a home elsewhere, including neighbouring countries that buy power from Eskom or share its grid. We are adding guides for other countries to this section.

Common questions about South Africa

Related guides

Compare how other markets handle the same questions, or size your own system first:

• Home batteries in Nigeria
• Home batteries in India
• Home batteries in Australia
• Home batteries in Brazil
• Home battery capacity guides (5 kWh to 30 kWh+)
• Home battery brand guides
• All country guides