Over in the US, they’re busy celebrating a Mars landing with elaborate handshakes, and here in Cape Town we have seemingly regressed back to the dark ages.

How so? Well, the City of Cape Town has now threatened to disconnect residents’ solar panels, and then hit them with a R6 426 fine, if they don’t register their rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) installations with the City.

Given how the City completely and utterly botched their handling of Day Zero, you’d think the DA would want to shy away from such Draconian lines of thinking with a national election looming, but I guess that ain’t happening.

Here’s Business Insider:

This applies to both grid-tied and off-grid solar PV systems but does not apply to solar water heaters.

Mayoral committee member for informal settlements, water and waste services, and energy, Xanthea Limberg said unauthorised PV systems can interfere with the quality of electricity supply, electricity demand management and future network planning.

She said residents have a “grace period” until February 28, 2019, to register their solar PV connections.

Gee, how kind of them to allow Capetonians a grace period.

“The City embraces the uptake of alternative energy as this contributes to creating a cleaner and greener city,” Limberg said in a statement.

“We are, however, required to ensure that electricity supply systems comply with relevant standards and do not pose a safety risk.”

…The City of Cape Town, Limberg said, is legally required to ensure that the electricity distributed to all its customers complies with set quality standards.

Extra bonus – that R6 426 fine (R6 425,90 if we are being pedantic) will be used to pay for the removal of unauthorised solar connections.

To be fair, the City did actually release this information back in July, but it largely flew under the radar. Maybe that’s because us Capetonians aren’t exactly known for committing to anything that is more than a few weeks in advance.

However you look at this, and however much warning Capetonians were given in advance, it’s not going to play well.

[source:businsider]