A total of 432 Cape Town households have applied to earn cash from selling their excess solar power to the city.

These applications will now be assessed to determine their eligibility.

The first window for residential seller applications closed in March.

Cape Town says it is the first metro to buy excess solar PV power from small-scale generators in exchange for municipal bill credits and cash.

A power seller’s total municipal bill is first automatically credited down to zero, with the option to then apply to earn cash beyond a zero balance.

Businesses in Cape Town have been able to earn cash for power since June last year, with this option now also open to households.

Under the Cash for Power programme, Cape Town says businesses and households in the city have already earned more than R30.8-million, largely in municipal bill credits, since the start of the 2022/23 financial year until April 1.

This figure includes R23.5-million on the feed-in tariff, plus a further R7.3-million when including the 25c/kWh incentive the city has added to encourage participation in the programme.

As at April 1, there are currently 1 537 sellers benefiting via their excess generation.

Of these sellers, 910 are residential and 627 commercial or industrial.

“Previously, sellers could only be credited against their electricity bill up to a zero balance, but we have made key policy changes to enable the total municipal bill to be credited, as well as enabling cash payouts,” says mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.

“We have also launched a new online portal to make registering your solar PV system easier than ever.”

Hill-Lewis says the city will buy as much solar power as households and businesses can sell to it under the Cash for Power programme.

The first window for applications under the programme closed in March, and all applications received now will be assessed in the second window, with the dates to be announced soon.

Cheaper Meter to Sell Power Back
Cape Town this month unveiled a much cheaper electricity meter for residents to sell their excess solar power back to the city.

The new meter, for single-phase power users, is roughly 40% cheaper than the three-phase option.

The new meter costs R6 043, including VAT, compared with R10 508 for the old meter.

“The team has successfully been able to procure, test and now launch this single- phase AMI meter for customers,” says Hill-Lewis.

“Residents can now place their meter orders, as well as sign up for our Cash for Power programme.”