The City has a list of approved safe and legal inverters on its website. This database is meticulously checked to ensure that customers and installers are using quality equipment for safe and legal systems. Read more below:
‘Safe and legal small-scale embedded power systems reduce the risk of sub-standard, incorrectly wired solar PV inverters and batteries on the grid, including incorrect meters. This is a leading cause of extended power outages in neighbourhoods when the power comes back on after load-shedding. Unsafe systems can also increase the chance of fires or electrocution for building occupants and teams working on the electrical grid. City-approved inverters also enable quicker turnaround time of applications and this is why from October 2023 all systems will need a City-approved inverter and professional sign off,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Councillor Beverley van Reenen.
See Approved inverter and equipment ito NRS 097-2-1 (2023-07-26).xlsx (capetown.gov.za)
National legislation and regulations require authorisation:
National legislation and regulations require the authorisation of all power generating systems connected to the electricity supply. Authorisation requirements must be adhered to and the City continues to work to refine processes to the benefit of customers.
The City has authorised more than 5 700 grid- and off-grid systems to date amid an enormous spike in solar PV applications since the worsening Eskom load-shedding.
City speeding up application process
- From October 2023 all SSEG systems will need a City-approved inverter and professional sign off. Currently many systems using non-approved inverters are not wired correctly, posing risks to the safety and integrity of the network. This significantly slows down the registration process because there are too many different wiring configurations, many of which are unsafe and illegal, for the City professionals to consider. Reducing the wiring configurations speeds up the process.
To note: this applies to solar PV and battery systems connected into the wiring of the building. It doesn’t apply to backup inverters that plug into wall sockets, as those are regarded as electrical appliances.
- The City will officially be prioritising grid-tied installations as these submissions are faster to approve.
- Work is well under way on an online application process that further aims to improve customer experience.
Checklist to guide customers through the process: https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/Graphics%20and%20educational%20material/CCT-Energy-PV-Brochure.pdf
List of approved inverters: See Approved inverter and equipment ito NRS 097-2-1 (2023-07-26).xlsx (capetown.gov.za)
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