Only the very rich can afford to be truly off-grid and therefore exempt from an availability charge.
Like other solar power users, I was shocked to read that Eskom wants us to pay R938 a month. This would undermine the cost-saving motivation for investing in solar. Thrift is not the only reason people go “off-grid”. We want reliable supply. The headline: “Solar power users must pay R938 per month even if they don’t use our electricity – Eskom” is not entirely accurate. R938 is indeed proposed.
There is no opt-out. You pay a sewer charge based on stand size, even for an empty plot. If you have a borehole, you pay a water availability charge. Eskom’s R938 proposal is not labelled as a solar tax, even if solar users will be affected because they use less Eskom power. The scale of the increase is wicked and unfair. How many households can afford to go offgrid? Recent stage 6 and 4 power cuts left inverters depleted.Gate motors and fridges were among the casualties. To be truly off-grid is not easy.columnist, energy expert Andrew Kenny, this week repeated a challenge to scribe Peter Bruce and Mark Swilling to put their money where their mouths are.
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