Renewable Solar Energy Power – South Africa

Eskom Rebates for Households
Using Alternative Energy Devices

Incentives in the Form of Rebates

As a part of its contribution to energy conservation efforts, Eskom – the company which generates 95% of electricity power used in South Africa – is offering incentives (in the form of rebates) to households considering using alternative energy like solar power. This is in recognition of the fact that South Africa is blessed with many hours of sun per year, which could be converted into solar energy and used to power many appliances, but which, as things stand now, basically goes to waste. The program is line with the target set by Eskom and the government to have alternative sources of energy contribute some 10,000 Giga Watt Hours to the national power grid by 2013, a quarter of which is to be obtained from solar water heating.

You can Claim a Portion of the Installation Costs

Notably, Eskom is now paying the rebates directly to the households using the alternative energy devices, rather than to the installers of the system as was initially the case. The way the program works is that a household which buys the solar equipment can claim a portion of the money they pay for the equipment from Eskom, directly. What we are looking here is between 15% and 20% of the total cost of the equipment. Practically, this translates to an average of between 1,800 and 4,900 South African Rands, given that the solar power systems typically cost between 14,000 and 33,000 South African Rands when the cost of installation is factored in.

Requirements Regarding the Solar Equipment

Of course, to qualify for the ESKOM rebate, there are some requirements, especially regarding the type of solar equipment you purchase. As a minimum, the equipment has to be approved by the South African Bureau of Standards with regard to its safety, besides passing mechanical and thermal design tests. The installer too has to be a well qualified one, who is registered with Eskom. This Eskom does in a bid to ensure that people only invest in high quality alternative power systems, and that the systems are properly installed to ensure future reliability. The equipment that qualifies for the Eskom rebates also has to be one that incorporates a functioning timer.

Rebates Procedure

All that a person who purchases the solar equipment that qualifies for the rebates has to do is to fill in a (rebate-claim) form, and submit the completed form to Eskom Deloitte, who are charged with processing the rebate claims. An applicant who has fully complied with requirements for the program can expect to get their rebate within 60 days of application.

The ESKOM rebates for alternative energy don’t, however, apply retrospectively. Rebates are therefore not, for instance, paid for systems installed before the program started. And even for suppliers and installers who register with the program, no rebates are paid on solar equipment they installed before they got registered. The idea behind the program is to get (new) people who have not been using alternative energy to start using it.

The Big Benefits

Among the benefits of the ESKOM rebates for alternative energy equipment is the fact that it is encouraging the use of renewable sources of energy like solar energy, and thereby serving as a check to the current unsustainable use for the non-renewable sources of energy. Solar energy is a clean energy too, and its use (rather than the use of ‘dirtier’ energy resources like the fossils fuels), especially at the scale the Eskom is encouraging, goes a long way towards curbing the global environmental pollution problem.

By offering the rebates only on SABS approved solar equipment, the Eskom rebates program is encouraging the purchase of high quality solar equipment, and thereby rewarding good workmanship on the part of the equipment suppliers. And by insisting that only qualified installers can install the solar power equipment that qualifies for the rebates, Eskom ensures that the system are properly installed and the homeowners can live with the peace of mind of knowing they have reliable systems in place.

Now this is important because a major complaint which tends to make many people to simply give up on the whole solar-power idea is when their systems prove unreliable, either because of their design or poor workmanship on installation.

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