# D-Day for Eskom solar owners – but must you register?

Johannesburg – Wednesday is the deadline for Eskom Direct customers with rooftop solar systems to register their installations with the power utility, although energy experts advising customers with valid compliance certificates say registration may not be necessary.

Eskom initially threatened fines and disconnections for customers who failed to register by 30 September 2026, but later withdrew those threats following lobbying by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA).

The utility has instead introduced a “carrot and stick” approach. Customers who register before the deadline will have the cost of a smart meter covered by Eskom, while those who register later could be required to pay for the quotation, meter, meter box, cabling, installation and connection, Mybroadband reported.

OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage said customers with lawful electrical certificates of compliance (CoCs) for solar systems below 100kW may not need to register.

“If you’ve got solar and a compliance certificate under the kilowatt threshold, and you’re an Eskom client, we cannot see the reason and rationality for you to register,” Duvenage said.

OUTA energy adviser Chris Yelland agreed, saying he would not personally register his own solar system with Eskom, provided he had the required documentation.

“I’m not here to give legal advice, but I want to tell you that in my view, and certainly in my personal case, I would not register my solar system with Eskom,” Yelland said.

“But, I would make sure that I have a valid, lawful CoC as proof of technical and safety compliance so that they cannot cut me off for safety reasons.”

Yelland said customers who were comfortable with the costs could still register, but argued that those with valid CoCs should not be compelled to do so.

“But I don’t think one has to, provided one’s got a CoC. They can’t fine you, they can’t cut you off,” he said.

Eskom confirmed in August that it would not fine or disconnect customers for failing to meet the 30 September deadline.

Yelland, however, disputed Eskom’s justification for registration, saying claims that the Electricity Regulation Act gives the utility authority to register behind-the-meter solar systems were incorrect.

“Eskom has no authority to issue fines. It is not a court, it is not a statutory authority, it doesn’t write the law, and there is no provision for Eskom to issue fines,” he said.

He added that threats to disconnect customers who had not registered their systems had no legal basis and could be challenged.

The registration debate applies to solar installations below 100kW, which is the threshold referred to for systems that do not require NERSA registration.