Nedbank clients have the option to finance the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems for their homes through their Nedbank home loan, the bank’s research, insights, retail and business banking executive Bruno Ching’andu has said.
In a South African Photovoltaic Industry Association-hosted webinar this week, Ching’andu encouraged consumers to consider this option, as it could become more affordable to pay off the home loan repayment installment than to foot an ever-increasing electricity bill from the municipality or Eskom.
With unreliable electricity supply from State-owned Eskom having consumers looking for alternatives, and with increasing costs putting pressure on consumers, he said that, over the next decade, it may become increasingly unaffordable for consumers to pay for electricity from the grid.
“Electricity costs are escalating more than people’s income, reducing their affordability for future lending, and it’s not going to get cheaper,” he said.
A household currently spending R2 000 a month on electricity this year will be paying an average of R4 700 a month if tariffs continue to increase at 10%. On a 5% basis, this installment will increase to about R3 100 in 2031.
However, financing a household’s solar PV system through a home loan could increase the household’s monthly cash flow if the repayment installment on the home loan is “cheaper than the electricity bill”.
Ching’andu said this was “one of the many ways” that Nedbank tries to help its clients manage their money and debt better.
It will also help to reduce grid expectations for Eskom, while simultaneously contributing positively to the environment, he noted.