Further to a commitment to announce the transitional arrangements since the termination of the Eskom rebate programme, the Department of Energy (the “Department”) on Monday, February 02, 2015 provided stakeholders with an update on these transitional arrangements for the implementation of the national solar water heater (SWH) programme.
Insofar as:
1. Eskom (partial) rebates intended to reduce electricity demand
1.1 With effect from 2 February 2015 the Department has availed subsidies (up to a cap of 5,000). The number of subsidies is informed by past performance of the partial rebate programme under Eskom (about 2,000 monthly installations over the past nine months). No further subsidies will be available under this programme once this cap is exceeded.
1.2 The latest Eskom rebate levels, together with the payment services offered by Eskom (through Deloitte), will remain unchanged subject to (1.1) above.
1.3 The Department has developed an electronic data collection and verification system, and henceforth it is mandatory that all claims under this programme have to be uploaded on the aforementioned system. The electronic record relating to any installation will accordingly contain a photograph, GPS coordinate, name of product supplier and installer, product size, name of beneficiary, as a minimum.
1.4 Going forward a new rebate scheme will be introduced and subsidies will be offered with considerations regarding local content. A sliding scale commensurate with local content will apply and products with the highest verified local content will attract the highest rebates.
1.5 From 23 February 2015 onwards the Department will provide participants with training on the mandatory verification it has developed.
1.6 The failed electric geyser market will be leveraged to accelerate the installation of SWH systems, particularly in the high electricity consumption sector.
2. Fully-rebated SWH systems under the social programme
2.1 The social programme is intended to provide an environmentally benign energy source for residential water heating purposes, irrespective of the impact on the electricity grid. The Department-sponsored SABS verification process as prescribed under SABS: SATS 1286, has been completed in respect of all product offerings that were submitted to the department.
2.2 Only those products that have met the SABS verification requirements will be legible for receiving subsidies under the social programme.
2.3 Information regarding the registration of product suppliers, installation companies, etc. wishing to participate in the social programme will be issued by the department not later than 31 March 2015.
Enquiries:
Thandiwe Maimane, Departmental Spokesperson
Tel: 012 407 7469/70
E-mail: Thandiwe.maimane@energy.gov.za or Mediadesk@energy.gov.za
