Industry organisation the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) and Johannesburg utility City Power have held talks to resolve the small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) registration backlog and stabilise Johannesburg’s distributed energy framework.

The meeting directly addressed the public outcry regarding the mandatory migration of SSEG users from prepaid to postpaid tariffs.

SAPVIA shared industry concerns that the significant cost increase moving from an average of R230 on prepaid to a range of R1 070 to R1 360 on postpaid serves as a major deterrent to legal registration.

“We must ensure the transition to a greener grid does not become a financial burden that punishes early adopters. Our goal is to work with utilities and municipalities to find a middle ground where the grid remains viable, but consumers are not alienated by sudden, steep tariff hikes,” says SAPVIA technical and policy manager Sim Khuluse.

However, alternatives to this mandatory migration of users are being discussed, including retaining prepaid infrastructure for users who do not export power and implementing specialised, cost-reflective prepaid tariffs, he reports.

Further, so-called legacy SSEG applications that were submitted between 2022 and August 2025 need to be addressed.

SAPVIA called on City Power to adopt a transitional approach to evaluate these outstanding submissions, and emphasises that administrative consistency is vital for systems installed according to the approval practices of that period.

SAPVIA proposed a defined framework to fast-track these older applications. However, further engagement is required to finalise an appropriate path forward.

Efficiently resolving these legacy matters is seen as a critical step in building public confidence and accelerating formal registration across the city, the organisation states.

“Regulatory certainty is the fuel for voluntary compliance. By clearing the SSEG registration backlog, we are removing the roadblocks to a sustainable city and ensuring no solar pioneer is left in administrative limbo,” says SAPVIA residential PV working group chairperson Dr Patrick Narbel.

SAPVIA and City Power aim to make compliance the easiest and most attractive path for Johannesburg’s energy users.

“By streamlining the registration process and resolving the backlog of legacy applications, we can protect the grid's integrity while empowering residents to contribute to a sustainable, resilient energy future for the city,” he says.

The engagement also focused on how to create a compliant, financially sustainable and growing distributed-generation environment that benefits residents while ensuring grid stability, the industry body says.

SSEG registration must be faster, more scalable and less bureaucratic. Manual submission constraints and administrative hurdles currently act as barriers to widespread compliance.

To address this, SAPVIA and City Power discussed benchmarking against successful digital models, such as the City of Cape Town’s online portal, to eliminate friction and improve processing times for new solar installations.

SAPVIA proposed that City Power move to digital solutions to streamline the registration process.