How much does Buffalo City (East London) pay for solar exports in 2026/27?

Buffalo City's 2026/27 tariff lines that matter for solar

Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM) — East London, King William's Town (Qonce), Mdantsane and surrounds — publishes a final 2026/27 tariff book with both VAT-exclusive and VAT-inclusive columns. NERSA's Regulator Executive Committee approved the municipality's application on 9 May 2026, effective 1 July 2026. The residential and export lines that drive a solar decision are:

For comparison, the 2025/26 book paid a flat R1.40 excl. VAT (R1.61 incl.) for exported energy. The new time-based credit is a meaningful step up: a midday exported kWh is now worth about R2.19 including VAT against R4.47 for an imported kWh on Scale 1A — close to half the retail rate, which is generous by South African metro standards.

The one rule that limits export in East London

The tariff book is explicit: SSEG and LSEG are net-billing tariffs, and the credited exported energy cannot exceed the total imported energy for that month. Credited feed-in kWh are deducted from the kWh you bought from BCMM. In other words, export can reduce your energy bill towards zero for the month, but it cannot turn into a cash payout, and any kWh you export beyond what you imported earns nothing.

The basic charge is also untouched. On Scale 1A the R591.45 monthly basic charge (incl. VAT) stays on the bill however much solar you have. That is why "my bill is still high after solar" complaints are common on fixed-charge tariffs — see why bills stay high after solar and fixed charges with solar.

Worked savings sketch: 5 kW on Scale 1A

Worked yield: a north-facing 5 kWp array in the Eastern Cape coastal belt commonly yields in the order of 1 500–1 600 kWh per kWp per year — call it about 645 kWh a month on average.

• Household on Scale 1A uses 700 kWh a month.
• With timers and a modest battery, 390 kWh of solar is used directly in the home.
• The remaining 255 kWh is exported during standard time.
• Imports fall to 700 − 390 = 310 kWh. Because 255 exported kWh is less than 310 imported kWh, the full export is credited.

Self-use: 390 × R4.47 ≈ R1 743 a month.
Export credit: 255 × R2.19 ≈ R558 a month.
Total: roughly R2 300 a month, or about R27 600 a year incl. VAT. The R591.45 basic charge remains.

Now push the design too far. If the household cuts imports to 150 kWh by adding a big battery while still exporting 255 kWh, only 150 kWh of export is credited; 105 kWh earn nothing. In Buffalo City the sweet spot is a system where monthly export stays below monthly import — easy to check on your inverter app after the first full month. Our monitoring guide shows which numbers to watch.

Prepaid customers (Scale 1B)

Scale 1B prepaid energy is R3.87 a kWh incl. VAT with no basic charge, so solar savings per kWh are lower than on Scale 1A but there is no fixed charge eating them. The tariff book says customers can apply for a feed-in tariff "on any applied electricity tariff structure", and that customers who install SSEG must apply through the national portal at apply.sseg.org.za; once approved, an export meter arrangement follows. Ask BCMM which meter and which tariff you will land on before you design for export, and read our prepaid and solar guide and prepaid-to-conventional explainer.

Pensioners and indigent households have their own scales (Scale 1C and 1C-3, from R3.29 to R3.88 incl. VAT per kWh, with the first 50 kWh free on the indigent scale). Before adding grid-tied solar, check with BCMM whether registering an SSEG changes your eligibility for those scales — a lost subsidy can wipe out a small system's savings.

Registration path in Buffalo City

1. Get the installer to submit the SSEG application through apply.sseg.org.za, which BCMM's tariff book names as the route.
2. Use an inverter on the NRS 097-2-1 approved list — NRS list explainer.
3. Expect a single-line diagram, export setting, Certificate of Compliance and commissioning report — CoC explainer.
4. Wait for approval and the meter change before exporting. Export before approval earns nothing and can trigger penalties.

Registration is required for any grid-connected system of 100 kW or less, whether it exports or not; NERSA restated this in 2026. Off-grid systems with no grid connection are exempt — full explainer.

Why the June–August peak credit matters less than it looks

R3.45 incl. VAT per exported kWh in winter peak periods sounds attractive, but Eskom peak windows are early morning and evening, when panels produce little. A battery could in principle discharge into the grid during peak, but most hybrid inverters on home sites are configured to cover house loads first, and the monthly cap on credited export still applies. Treat peak export credit as a bonus, not a design target. Use the battery to avoid importing at R4.47 instead.

What a sensible East London system looks like

• Array: sized so that average monthly export is comfortably below average monthly import.
• Inverter: hybrid with export control, from a brand with local support — hybrid inverter brands.
• Battery: enough usable kWh to carry the evening; coastal humidity and salt air mean an indoor or well-sheltered location — indoor vs outdoor. Buyers commonly compare Solar MD, Freedom Won, BYD, Blue Nova and Pylontech; Solar MD packs are made in Cape Town and have a field record of outliving their warranty terms, which matters if you plan to add modules later.
• Mounting: marine-grade fasteners and corrosion-rated rails near the sea; ask the installer what grade they quote.
• Surge protection: Eastern Cape storms are real — SPD guide.

Reputable installers in the metro buy from established electrical and solar wholesalers — ACDC Dynamics, Voltex, ARB Electrical, Herholdts, SONAH Group among them — and should name the brand of every component on the quote. If a line just says "battery 10 kWh", ask which one.

How Buffalo City compares with other metros

Expressed as a share of the residential energy rate, BCMM's standard-time export credit (about 49% of Scale 1A energy) sits well above Mangaung's (around 18–20% of domestic block rates) and is competitive with the larger metros on our feed-in tariff roundup. That makes modest export genuinely useful in East London — as long as you respect the monthly cap.

Quick questions

What does Buffalo City pay for exported solar in 2026/27?

R1.90/kWh excl. VAT (R2.19 incl.) for Eskom off-peak and standard periods, and R3.00/kWh excl. VAT (R3.45 incl.) for Eskom peak periods in the June–August high season, per BCMM's final 2026/27 tariff book. In 2025/26 it was a flat R1.40 excl. VAT.

Can Buffalo City pay me cash for extra solar?

No. SSEG is net billing: credited exported energy cannot exceed the energy you imported that month, and the credit offsets your energy bill only.

Does the basic charge go away with solar?

No. On Scale 1A the basic charge is R514.30 excl. VAT (R591.45 incl.) per month in 2026/27 and remains regardless of solar.

How do I register solar with BCMM?

BCMM's tariff book directs SSEG applicants to apply.sseg.org.za. Expect an NRS 097-2-1 listed inverter, single-line diagram, CoC and commissioning report, then an export meter change after approval.

Sources & related

• BCMM final tariff book 2026/2027
• NERSA reasons for decision: Buffalo City tariff application 2026/27
• NERSA media statement: Eskom retail tariffs 2026/27
• SAnews: NERSA clarifies SSEG registration rules
• Solar News 24: solar feed-in tariffs in South Africa
• Solar News 24: municipal fixed charges with solar