Gauteng · Local solar and inverter installers

What do registration and a CoC cost?

Two different bits of paperwork, often quoted separately. The Certificate of Compliance comes from a registered electrician. Registration as small-scale embedded generation goes to whoever sends your electricity bill, and some suppliers also change your meter.

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Johannesburg, Pretoria, Ekurhuleni, the West Rand and the Vaal
You pay
Nothing to be put in touch
Quote
Itemised, in writing

Why there is no rand figure here

Each installer prices their own jobs, and the one who takes yours quotes in writing before any work starts. We are not going to copy a figure off another website or an industry average instead. You would plan around it, and it would not be the price of your system.

What we can tell you is what moves the price and what to ask, so the quote you get makes sense and two quotes can be compared line by line.

The longer answer

Registration goes to whoever sends your electricity bill: City Power for most of Johannesburg, the City of Tshwane in Pretoria, your own municipality elsewhere in Gauteng, or Eskom where it bills you directly. City Power's own guide lists what it wants: the application form, a single-line diagram, the inverter's datasheet and NRS certificate, drawings, a site plan, a maintenance procedure, a commissioning form and the Certificate of Compliance.

The meter is the part people do not expect. City Power says a smart, bi-directional meter is installed at the customer's expense, and that households with solar are moved to post-paid. The City of Ekurhuleni says it replaces the meter with one that measures import and export, at the applicant's cost, or a customer staying on prepaid needs reverse power blocking. The City of Tshwane says feeding power back needs its approval and a bi-directional meter. Ask your supplier what applies to you before you sign a quote.

The inverter matters for registration too. Suppliers ask for proof that it meets NRS 097-2-1, the standard for connecting small generators to the grid, so check the inverter in your quote has that certificate.

What decides the price

PaperworkAn electrical Certificate of Compliance, and SSEG registration with your electricity supplier. City Power asks for solar systems to be registered and makes no exception for zero-export ones. Ask whether both are in the price or extra.
Your supplierCity Power, the City of Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, another municipality and Eskom each have their own forms and rules, and their own charges. The installer should know which one you are on from your bill.
The meterIf your supplier swaps the meter, that cost usually falls on you, and on City Power it means moving to post-paid. Ask the supplier, not only the installer.
An old installA system put in years ago with no Certificate of Compliance needs an inspection first, and anything that fails has to be fixed before it can be certified and registered.

Ask before they start

  1. Is the Certificate of Compliance in the price?
  2. Is SSEG registration in the price, and who submits it?
  3. Does the inverter have an NRS 097-2-1 certificate?
  4. Will my supplier change my meter, and who pays for it?
  5. Can I have a copy of everything you submit, and of the approval?
  6. Can I have it itemised: panels, inverter, batteries, mounting, cabling, labour, CoC?
  7. What is the battery in kWh, and what is the usable depth of discharge?
  8. What are the warranties on the panels, the inverter and the battery, and are they the manufacturer's or yours?
  9. Is SSEG registration included, and who submits it?
  10. Is that including VAT?

Questions people ask

How much does it cost to register solar with City Power?

Ask City Power at the application stage, and ask your installer whether they handle it and charge for it. City Power's guide says the smart, bi-directional meter is installed at the customer's expense and that solar customers are moved to post-paid, so ask about the meter as well as the application.

Who issues a Certificate of Compliance for solar?

A registered electrician. The solar, inverter or battery work is part of your electrical installation, so the CoC has to cover it. An old CoC from before the solar went in does not.

The job, and other price questions

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