If you have solar panels on your roof, you may have seen warnings about a R30,000 fine and a 30 September deadline.

The latest clarification from Eskom is less alarming.

Eskom has confirmed that residential customers will not be fined or disconnected simply because they fail to register their rooftop solar system by 30 September 2026.

But that doesn't mean registration has been scrapped.

You Still Need to Register

NERSA confirmed in February that small-scale generation systems of 100 kW or less that have a connection to the electricity grid must be registered with the relevant electricity distributor, whether that is Eskom or a licensed municipality.

Importantly, this applies even if your solar system doesn't feed electricity back into the grid.

A system with no connection to the electricity grid at all is exempt from this registration requirement.

So the message isn't:

“You don't need to register anymore.”

You do.

So What Is the 30 September Date?

For Eskom customers, 30 September is the end of the current registration and connection fee waiver for qualifying systems.

Eskom extended the waiver earlier this year for eligible systems of up to 50 kW, with the current relief running until 30 September 2026.

Eskom says the waiver covers registration and connection fees, including a smart meter where required. It has previously valued the assistance for typical residential customers at around R10,000.

That gives unregistered Eskom customers a practical reason to deal with it now, even though missing the date does not automatically trigger the widely reported R30,000 fine.

In Joburg, Check Who Supplies Your Electricity

This part matters.

Eskom's clarification applies to Eskom customers.

If your electricity comes from City Power or another municipality, you need to check that distributor's own registration process, charges and enforcement rules.

NERSA's position is that qualifying grid-connected systems must be registered with the relevant electricity distributor.

So before doing anything else, check your electricity bill and establish who actually supplies your property.

A CoC Isn't the Same as Registration

Having an electrical Certificate of Compliance (CoC) doesn't automatically mean your solar system has been registered.

NERSA specifically distinguishes the two: a CoC deals with the electrical safety of the installation, while registration serves a separate regulatory purpose.

For Eskom's current process, the required documentation includes:

• A Certificate of Compliance
• An inverter test certificate
• An installation test report

The Bottom Line

The important update isn't that solar registration has disappeared.

It hasn't.

What has changed is the understanding around the 30 September deadline and the widely reported R30,000 fine.

Eskom says its residential customers won't be fined or disconnected simply for failing to register by that date. But grid-connected solar still needs to be registered, and 30 September remains important because Eskom's current fee waiver ends then.

For Joburg homeowners, the simplest checklist is:

Who supplies your electricity? Is your solar registered with them? And is your electrical compliance paperwork in order?

Those are the questions worth checking.