What does Ekurhuleni pay for solar exports, and how much can solar save on its tariffs in 2026/27?

Ekurhuleni covers the East Rand: Kempton Park, Boksburg, Benoni, Germiston, Edenvale, Alberton, Springs, Brakpan and Nigel. If your electricity account comes from the City rather than Eskom, these are your numbers. If your account says Eskom, read our Eskom Homeflex export answer instead.

The 2026/27 Tariff B Residential numbers

These figures come from Schedule 2 of the City’s 2026/27 tariff book (Annexure F, June 2026). The City prints them excluding VAT; the incl.-VAT column is our arithmetic at 15%.

An honest caveat on these numbers. NERSA approved a restructured Ekurhuleni schedule on 23 May 2026 that differs line by line from what the council first proposed, and the City has taken that decision on review in the High Court. Focal Energy, which reads the signed schedule closely, reports that some basic charges fell in the implemented version and that certain lines are marked as interim. Another installer site quotes the single-phase basic charge at R109.78 excl. VAT. So treat the basic charge as “roughly R110 to R120 excl. VAT” until it appears on your own bill. The R1.1461 export credit is the same in every source we checked.

Why self-use matters more than export here

The gap between buying and selling is the whole story. Every kWh your panels deliver to the kettle, geyser or pool pump avoids about 422.7c. Every kWh pushed onto the City’s network earns about 131.8c. That is a ratio of roughly 3.2 to 1.

The practical move is to put flexible loads in daylight: geyser timer to late morning and early afternoon, pool pump during sunshine hours, dishwasher and washing machine on delay start, and EV charging at midday where you can. Our self-use versus export answer walks through the habits that move the most kWh.

Worked monthly example (illustrative)

Take a single-phase East Rand home that buys 900 kWh a month. It installs a 5 kW hybrid with about 6 kW of panels and a 10 kWh battery. Assume the system makes about 750 kWh a month, the household uses 600 kWh of that directly or through the battery, and 150 kWh is exported. These are round planning figures, not a measurement.

• Grid purchases fall from 900 to 300 kWh: 600 kWh × R4.2274 ≈ R2 536 a month saved.
• Export credit: 150 kWh × R1.3180 ≈ R198 a month.
• The basic charge stays, at roughly R126 to R138 incl. VAT on single-phase.
• Total energy benefit ≈ R2 734 a month, or about R32 800 a year.

Against a published 2026 Johannesburg market range of R72 000 to R108 000 for a complete 5 kW system with a 5–10 kWh battery (EnergyBee’s Gauteng figures, see our 5 kW cost answer), that is a simple payback of roughly two and a half to three and a half years before tariff increases, if the household really achieves that much self-use. Halve the self-use and the payback roughly doubles, which is why the self-use figure on a quote deserves more scrutiny than the panel brand.

The rules you must follow

1. Written permission first. The City’s guideline says no generator may be connected to its network without specific written approval, including systems that never export. Fully off-grid systems with no connection to your wiring are the exception.
2. Apply before you build. Submit the SSEG application form with the signed Annexure 4 commencement form, plus a single-line diagram if the system is bigger than 18 kW. The City issues a first approval letter so construction can start.
3. Commission and submit the pack. After installation you send the commissioning form, the electrical Certificate of Compliance, photos of the dual-supply warning labels at the meter box, and the inverter’s NRS 097-2-1 certificate. Commissioning can be signed by an ECSA-registered engineer or technologist or an accredited installer such as a PV GreenCard holder; systems under 20 kW do not need ECSA sign-off.
4. Move to Tariff B. No home with solar may stay on Tariff A.2, and exporting is only possible on Tariff B Residential.
5. Meter swap at your cost. The City replaces your meter with a four-quadrant bi-directional AMR meter that records import and export. The guideline says it may need to sit in a kiosk in the road reserve and that a deposit is payable on the change.

If you want to stay on prepaid, the City’s summary says you must fit reverse-power blocking so the prepaid meter does not trip or deduct units when the inverter pushes power back. That is the zero-export route, and in that case you earn no export credit at all.

One more catch: credits depend on the billing system

The City’s tariff policy says the export credit on Tariff B will apply “once the City’s billing system is programmed to bill the credit units”. Ask the City, at application stage, whether credits are already appearing on residential accounts in your area, and do not let an installer build the business case on export income. Size for self-use, and treat any export credit as a bonus.

Body corporates and complexes

Sectional-title schemes on the Tariff B Bulk Residential Resellers class can register solar too, but the policy says the export credit goes to the bulk account holder (the body corporate), not to individual unit owners. If you live in a complex, read our sectional title answer before you buy panels for your own unit.

What to put in front of every installer

• Your last 12 months of kWh from the City bill, and whether you are single- or three-phase.
• A written self-use percentage and a monthly export estimate, priced at 422.7c and 131.8c incl. VAT respectively.
• The meter swap and deposit as separate lines on the quote, not buried in “sundries”.
• Who submits the SSEG application and commissioning pack, and by when.

Related: City Power feed-in · Tshwane export credit · fixed charges with solar · metro tariffs · bi-directional meters.

Quick questions

Does Ekurhuleni pay for exported solar power?

Yes. Registered Tariff B Residential customers who remain net consumers are credited R1.1461 per kWh excl. VAT, about 131.8c incl. VAT, measured on a four-quadrant two-way meter.

Can I stay on prepaid with solar in Ekurhuleni?

Only without exporting. The City says a prepaid customer with solar must fit reverse-power blocking so the meter is not affected, and homes with solar are moved to Tariff B.

Do I need City approval for a hybrid system that never exports?

Yes. The City requires written permission for any generator connected to your wiring, whether or not it exports. Only fully off-grid systems are exempt.

How long does Ekurhuleni take to respond to an application?

Secondary sources quote the City as responding within 10 working days; ask for the current turnaround when you submit.

Sources & related

• City of Ekurhuleni: Annexure F 2026/27 tariffs (Schedule 2, Tariff B Residential)
• City of Ekurhuleni: Electricity Tariff Policy 2026/27 (Annexure E16)
• City of Ekurhuleni: Guideline for Embedded Generation (Annexure E25)
• City of Ekurhuleni: embedded generation registration process summary
• Focal Energy: Ekurhuleni tariffs 2026/27 and the NERSA implementation note (secondary)