Retailers of off-grid electricity generation say the new proposed rules by the industry regulator will be impossible to police and will negatively affect their bottom line.
They believe the plan by the National Energy Regulator (Nersa) to have all forms of electricity production under 1MW registered is just another way to tax already financially stretched South Africans and will turn people off having renewable energy sources in their homes.
Last month cabinet announced that it had approved a draft consultation paper from Nersa for all domestic, commercial and industrial customers who used solar, wind and generators to produce electricity to be registered.
The new rules applied to people on the grid as well as those completely off the grid.
The owner of electrical contractors Supa Nova, Irwin Hackmer, said: "I think most people won’t even register and it won’t be policed because how will [Nersa] monitor it?”
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