Surge in rooftop solar is hurting Eskom

October 8, 2023 Siyabonga Mtangana

South Africa’s near-fourfold increase in rooftop solar power generation capacity in the year to March has reduced revenue at the struggling national utility and municipalities that distribute electricity.

The surge in installation of solar panels on houses and business premises, a result of recurrent power outages, has cut Eskom’s sales by 2.3% and cost the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, where more than 700 000 people live, R350-million in revenue, Pravin Gordhan, the public enterprises minister, said in response to a parliamentary question last week.

Read: How to claim from South Africa’s solar tax subsidy

By the end of August, solar panels capable of generating 4.5GW had been installed, 2.5GW more than last year, he said, citing a measure that excludes solar panels that form part of commercial plants built by private companies to supply the national grid. — (c) 2023 Bloomberg LP