Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za

03 February 2026

2-minute read

As registration deadlines loom for homeowners to register rooftop solar and battery systems, anxiety around the electricity issue mounts.

Prof Vally Padayachee confirms that the media statement released by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa, NERSA, to register small-scale inverter generation that is a roof-top solar facility “whether the installation at the point of connection to the electricity grid and its installed capacity and not by whether the electricity is extorted to the grid or consumed on sight.”

NERSA is legally mandated to come up with regulations and laws. According to the Professor, the certificate of compliance confirms that “the installation meets the electrical safety requirements.” Homeowners are required to register with Eskom or the municipality if their rooftop has a capacity of less than 100kw, and directly with NERSA if it is greater than 100kw. Facilities that do not have a point of attachment to the grid are exempted from registering.

Regulators insist that this is not about solar installation but about grid safety and integrity. The national grid is interconnected and when hardware like generators and rooftop solar are attached to the grid, the risk of compromising the safety of the grid increases. If it is not done properly, people could get injured or killed, despite no accidents of this nature or incidents like fires being reported. “One accident may be one too many,” states the Professor, emphasizing NERSA’s method of acting proactively.

While there is speculation that such regulations are just a way to get more revenue for Eskom, Prof Padayachee says that these fears are not justified.

Listen to the full interview with Ml Habib Bobat and Prof Vally Padayachee here.