Let’s Unpack Eskoms proposed R900+ per month charge to ‘Solar Panel’ Users

Specifically with reference to Nelson Mandela Bay; “Let’s not get our knickers in a knot people!”

• Nelson Mandela Bay Smart Meter clients (which includes solar panel owners with properly certified Grid Tie installations) currently pay R98.35 per month WITH reduced tariffs thrown in.
• The NMB’s 2023 tariff will increase the monthly charge to R352.84 for Smart Meter clients (which includes solar panel owners with properly certified Grid Tie installations) whilst further reducing the kWh charges.

Recently Eskom proposed a new tariff that would cost households using solar panels at least R900 per month. First things first – here in Nelson Mandela Bay our supplier is the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality and NOT Eskom so that proposed tariff will not directly affect us in this region. It may affect us as a ‘trickle down effect’ should the utility be able to start charging such an amount in the near future.

Here in Nelson Mandela Bay Solar Panel users who have grid tie installations AND have had their installations properly certified WITH a 4 Quadrant or Smart Meter installed already ‘enjoy’ a monthly basic charge of R98.35 plus whatever electricity they consume from the grid – which are at REDUCED rates in comparison to the highest Inclined Block Tariff charges ranging from R1.41 (Block 1 for consumption less than 75 kWh per month) to R2.90 (Block 5 for a consumption exceeding 950 kWh per month).

Alan Straton from Straton Solar says; “Most of our clients that we install Tesla Powerwalls and Solar Panels for are in Block 5 of the IBT so ‘benefit’ from the lower tariffs offered via the TOU scale. For clients with large batteries, such as the Powerwall, we programme their systems to switch to battery (if solar power is not available) during the peak times of 07:00 – 10:00 and 18:00 – 20:00 on weekdays. By doing so our clients then ‘avoid’ the Summer peak charges from September to May of R2.03 pr kWh and the Winter peak charges during June, July and August from 07:00 – 10:00 and 18:00 – 20:00 of R5.66 per kWh. Overall the TOU charges for solar panel users are less than the charges that they would pay normally with the off-peak charge (under the propose new tariff) being only R1.04 per kWh – less than the present charge to users using less than 75 kWh per month.”

The 2023 TOU tariff appears to be calculated to counter the effect of more and more customers installing back up batteries in addition to solar panel installations.

“What the regulatory authorities have failed to take into account is the different types of installations that can be done: Self Consumption only, Grid Tie only, Hybrid and Off-grid. For each of these there is a different price point and ‘reliance’ on the grid. Under the new tariff Grid Tie only will be the hardest hit during peak times whilst customers with batteries will be able to mostly avoid the peak charges creating an ‘imbalance’ in the tariff book where clients who feed back the most into the Grid (Grid Tie) will be the most severely ‘punished’,” says Straton.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality now allows wheeling under certain conditions and are allowing for net metering. At this point in time it is not entirely clear just how profitable for the solar panel owner such arrangements can be but one hopes that the recognition of this by the authorities will allow for more clarity and a fairer environment for all who have spent money on securing their own electricity supply.

“There are solar panel installers that only promote self consumption and that is where our regulatory authorities should be concerned. To my mind the authorities should recognise and appreciate the many ‘free kWh s pumped back into the grid and work more on how to encourage that in a fair and transparent manner,” concludes Straton.

Below are the applicable documents for the Nelson Mandela Bay Electricity Tariffs specifically to do with Solar Panel Installations:

Domestic Time of Use Tariff (Scale 31TOU)

Tariff Description: This tariff is for the renewable energy customers only. This is applicable to single phase 230 Volt, 80 Ampere supplies and three phase 400 Volt, 100 Ampere supplies. The tariff focus is on the time periods per day but is not seasonally differentiated.

Typical Customers: Domestic customers that installed solar solutions

Energy Charge – Time Period c/kWh (incl. VAT)

• Peak – 329.99
• Standard – 192.57
• Off Peak – 140.48
• Basic Charge (R/month) – 98.35

Basic Charge: The charge is a fixed monthly charge for administrative services. The fixed charge is levied monthly irrespective of the level of consumption.

Notes: It is foreseen that this tariff will be phased out in the near future. Customers on this tariff have an option to convert to ELV TOU. See Annexure A for details on the phase-in of new tariffs.

Extra Low Voltage Time of Use Tariff (Scale 31Y)

Tariff Description: This tariff is a new 3-part time of use (TOU) tariff for the residential or small business customers with a 4-quadrant smart TOU credit or prepaid meter.

Typical Customers: This tariff is for residential or small business customers (barring ATTP Prepaid customers). This is applicable to single phase 230 Volt, 80 Ampere and three phase 400 and 500 Volt supplies up to 100 Ampere.

Energy Charge – Time Period c/kWh (incl. VAT):

Summer:

• Peak – 203.21
• Standard – 148.40
• Off Peak – 104.20

Winter:

• Peak – 566.18
• Standard – 190.69
• Off Peak – 116.12
• Basic Charge (R/month) – 352.84

Energy Charge: The energy component of the tariff consists of six TOU energy charges based on the metered consumption in kWh during the corresponding TOU periods. The TOU period definitions are set out in Annexure B.

Basic Charge: The charge is a fixed monthly charge for administrative services. The fixed charge is levied monthly irrespective of the level of consumption.

Notes: This tariff is applicable to customers currently on the following tariffs:

• Non-ATTP prepaid customers
• Non-ATTP credit customers
• Domestic TOU customers
• Small Business Prepaid customers
• Small Business Credit Customers

See Annexure A for details on the phase-in of new tariffs.

Annexure A: New tariffs phase-in programme

NMBM intends to migrate to the new tariff structures in a phased approach starting with the larger industrial customers and ending with the small residential customers. All customers affected by the new tariff phase-in programme will be notified by NMBM of the new tariff options as reflected in the table below.

Existing Tariff to migrate to Choice of Tariff

Domestic

• Non-ATTP Prepaid to Non-ATTP Prepaid/ELV TOU Prepaid/ELV TOU Credit
• Non-ATTP Credit to Non-ATTP Prepaid/ELV TOU Prepaid/ELV TOU Credit
• Domestic TOU to ELV TOU Prepaid/ELV TOU Credit

Small Business

• Small Business Prepaid to ELV TOU Prepaid (230 to <400V)/ELV TOU Credit (230 to <400V)
• Small Business Credit to ELV TOU Prepaid (230 to <400V)/ELV TOU Credit (230 to <400V

Medium Business

• Medium Business Prepaid to ELV TOU Prepaid (230 to <400V)/ELV TOU Credit (230 to <400V)
• Multi Rate to LV TOU (400V to < 11 kV)
• Single Rate to LV TOU (400V to < 11 kV)
• Demand to LV TOU (400V to < 11 kV)
• TOU to LV TOU (400V to < 11 kV)

Large Business

• Demand to MV TOU (11 kV to <33 kV)
• TOU to MV TOU (11 kV to <33 kV)/HV TOU (33kV to 132 kV)/EHV TOU (equal and >132000 kV

It is envisaged that the tariff phase-in programme will be completed by mid-2023 subject to stakeholder engagement, budget for and availability of smart meters and internal processes. However, if a customers is ready to move to a new tariff, customers are encouraged to contact NMBM in writing and apply for the respective tariff changes

Annexure B: TOU Period Definitions

There are two seasonal periods, Winter (June, July and August) and Summer (September to May) per annum with different charges applicable to each season.

Low Season, Summer (September to May):

Weekdays:

• Off-Peak: 00:00 – 06:00 and 22:00 – 24:00
• Standard: 06:00 – 07:00, 10:00 – 18: 00 and 20:00 – 22:00
• Peak: 07:00 – 10:00 and 18:00 – 20:00

Saturdays:

• Off-Peak: 00:00 – 07: 00 12:00 – 18:00 20:00 – 24:00
• Standard: 07:00 – 12: 00 18:00 – 20:00

Sundays:

• Off-Peak: 00:00 to 24:00

High Season, Winter (June, July and August):

Weekdays:

• Off-Peak: 00:00 – 06:00 22:00 – 24:00
• Standard: 09:00 – – 17: 00 19:00 – 22:00
• Peak: 06:00 – 09:00 17:00 – 19:00

Saturdays:

• Off-Peak: 00:00 – 07: 00 12:00 – 18:00 20:00 – 24:00
• Standard: 07:00 – 12: 00 18:00 – 20:00

Sundays:

• Off-Peak: 00:00 to 24:00

Public Holidays will be treated as a Saturday or a Sunday as specified annually by Eskom for their Megaflex tariff – refer to Annexure C. Any “unexpected” holiday will be treated as the day it falls on.

Annexure E: Rules for Wheeling

The wheeling tariff is the charge for using NMBM’s transmission assets. Wheeling tariffs are linked to voltage levels.

1. A generator (or a customer with an embedded generator) wishing to wheel power over NMBM’s network must apply to NMBM. The Wheeling Application Form is available in the Document Library on the NMBM website4 under Forms. The document can be accessed by following this link: https://nelsonmandelabay.gov.za/DataRepository/Documents/application-form-embedded-generation_e9yB1.pdf
2. Once the application is received, a NMBM official will evaluate the supply arrangement (including the feed-in point) to ensure that it meets the necessary specifications.
3. If the application is approved, a 4-quadrant smart meter will be installed at the connection point
4. Once the generator’s details have been loaded onto the NMBM’s system and the generator has received written confirmation that its application has been successful, the generator may then enter into an agreement with qualifying NMBM customers for the supply of energy.
5. A wheeling customer wishing to wheel electricity from an approved generator must notify NMBM to load the wheeling tariff and to adjust the customer’s monthly invoice to facilitate wheeling. The wheeling customer should note that it will be charged a monthly SSEG Support charge as well as a wheeling tariff in accordance with NMBM’s approved tariffs.
6. The wheeling generator must notify NMBM of the proportional allocation between the wheeling customers of the energy injected at the feed-in point. The proportional allocation shall summate to a total of 100%. The wheeling generator must notify NMBM’ thirty (30) calendar days before the start of a billing month of a change in the proportional allocation of the wheeled energy quantities.
7. A wheeling customer is not allowed to receive more wheeled energy than its consumption in each TOU period over a billing month. Any such excess wheeled energy shall be discarded by NMBM for invoicing purposes.
8. Parties should note that NMBM provides no guarantees in respect of this service including network availability and security of supply. Furthermore, NMBM will not accept any claims from any party in respect of this services.
9. Capacity generated at low and extra low voltage, as per the NMBM definition, is at this stage excluded from the wheeling regime.
10. Wheeling is at this stage limited to a single supplier and single off-taker relation. NMBM is committed to expand the wheeling model based on experience gained and best practices to optimise the capacity supplier and off-taker ratio.

Video: Let’s Unpack Eskoms proposed R900+ per month charge to ‘Solar Panel’ Users

https://youtu.be/Xwwnoz25AJ4

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