Last reviewed against the City’s documents on
How a Cape Town home gets export credits
If you have solar on a Cape Town roof and want the City to credit what you export, a municipal process stands between you and the first credited month: twelve steps, two approval letters, an engineer registered with a statutory council, and a meter the City installs at your cost. This page lays out every step, in order, and who carries each one.
Nothing here is hidden. The City publishes its requirements, and a determined homeowner can run this themselves. Most of the people who call us tried.
Already installed? That is the usual case, and the steps are the same.
Not exporting? Registering a system that never feeds the grid has its own guide.
- Steps
- 12
- Typical duration
- 6–12 weeks
- Approval letters
- 2
- Export credit
- R1.3298/kWh
R1.3298/kWh is the 2026/27 residential rate, excluding VAT. The City adds VAT to export credits only for registered VAT vendors, which homeowners are not, so a higher figure you have seen quoted is either VAT-inclusive or a business tariff. Council sets the rate every year.
What can rule a home out, or add cost
Most homes have none of these. The ones that do are better off knowing now than at step nine. The free check asks about your inverter, meter position and supply, so it flags the likely ones before you book; our site inspection and the City’s own inspection settle them. Open only the ones that describe you.
An inverter that is not on the City’s approved listIf you are not sure of your inverter model
The City authorises only inverters on its approved list. There is no paperwork route around an unlisted one, and registering without export does not avoid it: the list applies to every grid-tied system. The inverter has to be replaced.
It is the first thing we check, because it is the cheapest to find out early.
Overhead supply and the underground conversionIf your supply comes in on overhead wires
Older properties in parts of Cape Town are still fed by an overhead line from a street pole rather than an underground cable. An export connection has to come in underground, so the supply must be converted before the City will authorise export. It is not discretionary: if your supply comes in overhead, assume this applies to you until we confirm otherwise.
The City quotes the conversion by supply rating, and its portion runs to roughly R17,600. A private electrician is needed on top, at your cost, for the run from the boundary to your meter position. Against a credit of around R731 a month for a 10kW system, the City’s portion alone takes about 25 months of credits to recover, before the meter and our fee are counted.
For most overhead homes, we advise against exporting. If the conversion does not pay back for your system, we tell you plainly and do not submit the application.
Overhead supply does not stop you registering a system that does not export, which needs no export meter. If your reason for registering is a property sale or compliance rather than credits, see registering a home system.
Meter on a house wall or inside the propertyIf your meter is not at the boundary
The City wants its bi-directional AMI meter at the front property boundary. Many older homes have the meter inside the house, in a garage, or behind a locked gate.
That used to mean a new boundary meter box and cabling, at the owner’s cost. In practice it no longer does: where the meter is on a house wall or inside the property, the City now installs a kiosk for the new meter itself, and the kiosk costs you nothing extra. Where your meter sits does not change our fee or your cost.
We know this because our own customers with meters on a house wall have had kiosks installed this way, and the City said so publicly at the Solar and Storage conference. The City has not made the official announcement yet. When it does, we will add it to this guide’s sources.
Export capacity, breaker rating and phasesIf your system is larger than your supply
Your Maximum Export Capacity is the ceiling the City sets on how much you may push back into the grid. It comes from your electrical supply, your main breaker rating and whether you are single- or three-phase, not from the size of your inverter or array.
- Single-phase 60A: the standard residential supply across most of Cape Town, and the lowest ceiling. A large system on a 60A supply will usually be authorised to export less than its inverter can produce.
- Single-phase 80A: a higher ceiling on the same single-phase supply. Some properties already have it; others can apply to upgrade.
- Three-phase: the highest ceiling, and the only realistic option for a larger system that wants to export everything it generates. The City’s three-phase meter costs more (R10,000 rather than R6,651.90).
An export cap below your system size is not a rejection. You export up to the cap and use the rest yourself, which for most households is still most of the value. If upgrading your supply is worth it in your case, we will say so; the upgrade is its own application to the City, with its own cost and timeline.
Prepaid electricity and the Home User tariffIf you are on prepaid electricity
You cannot export on a prepaid meter. Export customers move to a billed Home User account with an AMI meter, so the bill arrives monthly rather than as tokens you buy.
Home User carries a monthly service charge of R424.30. Homes valued at R1 million or more are already billed on Home User, solar or not, so for them nothing changes. For a prepaid home valued under R1 million, the move typically adds roughly R90–R260 a month, depending on usage. On Lifeline, the change is bigger, so talk to us first.
For a household exporting meaningfully, the credits comfortably cover the difference. For a small system on a low-consumption property, they may not. The export credit estimator allows for it when you tell it you are on prepaid.
Panel height and heritageIf your property is heritage-affected
SSEG registration is an electrical process, but it does not override the City’s planning and heritage rules. Two things can bring a second approval into play:
- Panel height above the roof. Panels mounted flush to the roof are generally treated as part of it. Two thresholds matter: 1.5 m above the roof surface, and 600 mm above the highest point of the roof. An array that crosses either can need building-plan approval. Tilt frames are the usual reason, and you can check yours from the garden.
- Heritage status. Properties older than 60 years, and anything in a heritage protection overlay zone, can need heritage consent for visible roof changes. Much of the City Bowl, Woodstock, Observatory and the older southern suburbs are affected.
Where clearance is needed, it comes first. The City will not consider your SSEG application until the clearance is in hand, so the two processes run one after the other, not side by side. The clearance has its own timeline and is not included in our fee. If your property is likely affected, we tell you at the eligibility stage.
The twelve steps, and who does each one
In the order the City runs them. The tags on each step say who does the work, and any step tagged Grid Okes is included in our fee.
Inverter and system check
Grid OkesYour inverter has to appear on the City’s list of approved grid-tied inverters. Models that are not listed cannot be authorised for export, no matter how well they are installed. Battery and hybrid inverters need their export behaviour confirmed too.
It is the cheapest thing to check and the most expensive to find out late: an unlisted inverter found at commissioning means replacing hardware after the application has been paid for.
Supply, breaker rating and export capacity
Grid OkesYour Maximum Export Capacity is set by your electrical supply, not by the size of your array. We check your breaker rating and phase configuration against what you want to export, and flag an overhead supply or a non-compliant meter position before either becomes a surprise halfway through the application.
If either applies to you, see “Export capacity, breaker rating and phases” and “Overhead supply” under “Before you start”.
Site inspection and system documents
Grid OkesYou choose a time for the site inspection, and nothing is due when you book. We come to the property and photograph the installation to the standard the ECSA professional needs: inverter markings, DB board, isolators, earthing and the array itself. This turns your roof into a file an engineer and a municipal assessor can both work from, and it is what homeowner-run applications most often get wrong.
We also need your inverter and panel spec sheets. Most people have them in the handover pack from their installation. If you do not, we ask your installer for them.
The single-line diagram, the document that sounds most technical and puts most people off, is generated by the City from the application itself. Nobody needs to draw one for you.
Application to the City
Grid OkesThe application is lodged through the City’s Energy Services e-Services platform against your municipal account. The account holder’s details must match the account exactly. A mismatch here is one of the more common reasons a file sits untouched.
City assessment, inspection and queries
The CityGrid OkesThe City reviews the submission and may inspect the property to check the meter position and whether the connection is suitable. Queries come back by email, often to you as the account holder.
Forward them to us once and the City redirects to us from there. We answer them.
Permission to Install
The CityThe first of the two letters that matter. It authorises the installation. It is not approval to export, and roughly half the process still lies ahead.
Permission to Install is valid for 90 days. Installation and commissioning have to happen inside that window, or the permission lapses and the application is resubmitted.
Installation or remedial work, within the 90 days
Your installerIf your system is not yet installed, this is when it goes up. If it is already on the roof, which is the usual case for the homeowners who come to us, this is when any remedial work found during assessment gets done.
We hold the clock and tell your installer when it starts.
Certificate of Compliance
Your installerA registered electrical contractor issues the CoC for the installation. It is an electrical compliance document about the wiring in your house.
It is not City SSEG approval, and having one does not mean you are registered. This is the misunderstanding we correct most often.
ECSA commissioning report and sign-off
ECSA engineerGrid OkesThe City requires the grid-tied commissioning report to be completed and signed by a professional registered with the Engineering Council of South Africa. A homeowner cannot sign it, and neither can most installers.
Finding an engineer is where most homeowner-run applications stall. We work with a contracted ECSA professional, so you never have to find or brief one.
Supplemental contract for embedded generation
YouGrid OkesThe City requires a signed supplemental contract covering your generation and export. It sits alongside your existing electricity supply agreement.
We prepare it and explain what you are signing. The signature has to be yours, because it is your account.
Meter quotation, paid to the City
The CityYouExport needs a bi-directional AMI meter: R6,651.90 for a single-phase supply or R10,000 for three-phase, including VAT, quoted and charged by the City. The City raises the quotation during authorisation and the property owner pays the City directly.
It is a cost of exporting, not a cost of using Grid Okes. It applies whether we submit your application, your installer does, or you do it yourself.
Where your current meter is on a house wall or inside the property, the City installs a kiosk for the new meter, at no extra cost to you. See “Meter on a house wall or inside the property” under “Before you start”.
Meter installation, Commissioning Approval and first credits
The CityGrid OkesThe City installs the meter, the post-installation pack is assessed, and the Commissioning Approval letter is issued, typically within ten working days of a complete submission. Your tariff moves to the SSEG-capable Home User structure, and exported units start being credited against your municipal account.
The meter installation is the step most likely to sit still without someone chasing it. We chase it.
Of twelve steps, Grid Okes carries eight.
You appear on two: signing the supplemental contract, and paying the City for your meter. Only the account holder can do either.
None of it is difficult on its own. It is long, particular, and easy to stall on. A lapsed 90-day permission, an inverter that was never on the approved list, an engineer who does not return calls, a meter quotation that sits unissued for a month: any one of them adds weeks, and none of them announce themselves.
Check if your home qualifiesFree · Your full cost before you pay anything
Our fee, the City’s meter, and what changes each month
Our fee
A standard export activation is R5,000, in two parts:
- R2,000 after our first site inspection. Nothing is due when you book. It covers the site inspection and the ECSA-registered professional, who is paid for the assessment and not for the outcome, so it stands either way.
- R3,000 when your meter installation is scheduled. Invoiced then, and never taken automatically.
On a three-phase supply, the engineer’s review can cost R500 more. Homes that likely need building work at the supply start with a fixed-price R2,500 assessment instead, counted towards your project if you go ahead.
The City’s meter
The bi-directional AMI meter is R6,651.90 for a single-phase supply or R10,000 for three-phase, including VAT, quoted and charged by the City and passed through at cost. Every registered export system needs one, however the application is submitted.
Every month after
- AMI meter administration fee: R6.80 a month, including VAT, charged by the City.
- Home User tariff: if you are on prepaid with a home valued under R1 million, moving to Home User typically adds roughly R90–R260 a month. Homes already on Home User see no change. See “Prepaid electricity and the Home User tariff” above.
Costs only some homes have
Most homes pay our fee, the meter and the monthly fee, and nothing further. Two conditions add once-off cost, both set out under “Before you start”, and any building or electrical work is quoted before you commit. A meter on a house wall or inside the property is not one of them: the City installs a kiosk for the new meter, at no extra cost to you.
- Remedial electrical work, where the installation itself needs correcting before the City will approve it.
- Overhead-to-underground conversion, where the supply comes in overhead. This is the one most likely to make exporting not worth it.
How the export credit is calculated
The 2026/27 residential export credit of R1.3298 per kWh has two parts:
- Base feed-in tariff: R1.0798 / kWh (excl. VAT)
- SSEG incentive for 2026/27: R0.25 / kWh (excl. VAT)
A 10kW system exports roughly 550 kWh a month, which is about R731 a month in credit. Summer months run higher and winter months lower. For a figure for your own panels and batteries, try the export credit estimator.
Your export credit first reduces your municipal bill. If you apply for Cash for Power, any leftover credit above R1,000 is paid out in cash once a year.
Rates are from the City of Cape Town’s 2026/27 tariff book. Council reviews the base rate and the SSEG incentive every year, so both may change after 30 June 2027. Tariff figures exclude VAT; the meter figures include it. Export volume varies by system, orientation, battery behaviour and household consumption.
What happens if the system fails assessment
Most failures are correctable, and most are about documents rather than hardware: a missing inverter datasheet, an account-holder name that does not match the municipal account, or details on the application that do not match what is on the roof. The site inspection at step three exists largely to stop that last one.
The harder ones are real:
- An inverter not on the approved list. The inverter is replaced.
- An installation that does not meet the standard. Remedial electrical work by a registered contractor, at your cost, before resubmission.
- Network constraints in your area. The City limits export in parts of the network that are already saturated. That is a fact about where the property is, and no application can argue with it.
In every case we explain the reason and what fixing it would take. Approval rests with the City, not with us.
The rest of our fee is due only when your meter installation is scheduled, so an application that fails before then is never invoiced for it. Where a rejection is within our control (documents, submission, or a compliance issue our screening should have caught), we refund it if you have already paid. The R2,000 invoiced after our first site inspection covers it and the ECSA-registered professional, who is paid for the assessment and not for the outcome, so it stands either way.
Sources
Everything on this page traces back to a published document. These are the ones it rests on, so you can check any of it yourself rather than taking our word for it.
City of Cape Town — primary
- Requirements for Small-Scale Embedded GenerationSeptember 2023, v51. The governing document: metering and meter accommodation (§1.7), the step sequence and the three-month Permission to Install window (§2.3), Maximum Export Capacity by supply (§3.1, Table 1), tariff components (§3.3), panel heights (Appendix 2) and the ECSA sign-off requirement.
- Energy Services Applications: SSEG How-To GuideThe e-Services platform process, and confirmation that the ECSA professional named on the application completes commissioning sign-off.
- Electricity Consumptive TariffsThe SSEG feed-in incentive for 2026/27 at 25.00c excluding VAT (28.75c including), unchanged year on year.
- 2026/27 Budget, Annexure 6 — Consumption and Generation TariffsWhere the residential feed-in base rate that makes up the R1.3298/kWh total is published.
- 2026/27 Budget, Annexure 4 — Revised Consumptive TariffsThe 8.55% regulated increase, the feed-in tariff methodology, and the new residential Time-of-Use tariff.
- Understanding Residential Electricity TariffsConfirms residential SSEG customers are billed on Home User, with the 2026/27 Home User and Domestic block rates and the monthly AMI administration fee.
Corroborating — third party
- ECA(SA): Navigating SSEG Installations in Cape TownUpdated October 2025 with City input. An independent confirmation that ECSA professional sign-off is still required, the point that matters most on this page.
- Seeff: Legalities of Solar Power Systems (SSEG) in Cape TownSupports the ten-working-day commissioning approval turnaround and the pre-Permission-to-Install site inspection. Both are third-party accounts rather than City-published figures, and we treat them as indicative.
This page describes the City of Cape Town’s residential SSEG process as we run it, current to 8 October 2026. The City publishes its own requirements, forms and approved-inverter list at capetown.gov.za, and reviews its requirements, tariffs and timelines periodically. Grid Okes is an independent service by Edna Labs (Pty) Ltd and is not affiliated with the City of Cape Town. Approval, metering and tariff decisions rest with the City.