Eskom halts fines on unregistered solar systems

Eskom has made a U-turn on its stance to impose fines on customers who had not registered their solar installations with the utility by the end of March 2026.

The decision to halt the issuing of fines comes after heavy criticism from the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) about the bulk power utility’s threat to disconnect or impose fines on customers.

Did Eskom ever have the lawful authority to impose fines on unregistered customers?  

ALSO READ: Zero sense to Eskom excuses for solar system registrations

Can Eskom fine households?

Chris Yelland, Managing Director at EE Business Intelligence, in conversation with Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage, said Eskom does not have the authority to cut people off.

“The first threat was they [Eskom] are going to cut you off, they softened that and said they are going to fine you if you do not register by 31 March,” said Yelland.

“And I want to say clearly, first of all, Eskom does not have the authority to fine a customer. There is nothing in law that empowers Eskom to impose fines. The courts can impose fines, but Eskom as a company registered in terms of the Companies Act, cannot issue a fine.”

Can Eskom cut customers off?

Yelland said Eskom has the power to cut customers off under specific reasons. However, not registering solar installations is not one of them.

Eskom has reportedly withdrawn its threats about either cutting customers off or issuing fines. According to Kevin Pillay, Eskom’s Distribution general manager for the central and east cluster, the utility has decided to hold off on issuing fines to customers who remain unregistered by the end of March.

He was speaking on the Money Show last month. Pillay claimed that the power utility was encouraging customers to come forward voluntarily rather than treating solar systems as an illegal connection.

ALSO READ: Nersa state that solar installations meeting these specifications must be registered

Fee to register

The utility is currently waiving registration fees until 31 March 2026 for small-scale embedded generation (SSEG), including the cost of a bidirectional smart meter and safety verification requirements.

“All registration and connection fees of up to R10 000, including a free smart meter, are waived until 31 March 2026 for Eskom household customer solar systems up to 50kVA,” said the utility last month.

Eskom has argued that registering the systems is a legal requirement under the Electricity Regulation Act, and that doing so is important for grid management and safety.

The Citizen has reached out to Eskom for a comment. It will be added once received.

NOW READ: Outa calls on solar users not to register with Eskom or municipalities