Tariffs
How do I read an Eskom bill before going solar in South Africa?
Find your tariff code (Homelight, Homeflex, etc.), separate fixed/network charges from c/kWh energy, note seasonal or TOU blocks, and export 12 months of kWh — not one winter token week. Solar quotes that ignore Homelight→Homeflex migration traps or fixed charges will over-promise savings.
Updated 27 October 2026 · Illustrative ranges — not a formal quote, credit decision or legal advice.
Answer first: Photograph or download 12 months of statements. Circle tariff name/code, total kWh, and every non-energy charge. Hand that pack to every installer unchanged.
Homelight vs Homeflex (high level)
Homelight-style prepaid / Inclining Block products behave differently from Homeflex TOU once you add export-capable PV. Many Direct customers exploring solar need an explicit conversation about tariff migration and gen-offset / export rules — Homelight vs solar · Homeflex · export / gen-offset · prepaid→conventional.
Line items that solar does not erase
- Service / network / capacity / amenity-style fixed charges.
- VAT on the remaining bill.
- Interest or admin on arrears (fix those before modelling PV).
Energy c/kWh is what self-use attacks. Fixed floors remain — fixed charges · bill still high.
What “12 months” buys you
Winter geyser and darker mornings change both kWh and TOU exposure. A quote sized on a mild March statement will undersize batteries for Stage and overstate summer-only savings — winter production · Stage battery · size system.
Municipal vs Eskom Direct
If your bill is City Power, Cape Town, eThekwini, Tshwane or another metro, use that annexure — not an Eskom Direct Homeflex flyer. Feed-in cents and SSEG steps differ — metro tariffs · 2026/27 tariffs · feed-in overview.
Installer brief template
- Tariff code + prepaid vs conventional.
- 12-month kWh table (monthly totals).
- Known Stage pain (WFH, medical, borehole).
- EV / heat-pump plans for the next 24 months.
- Roof photos and single- vs three-phase supply.
Then compare replies with how to read a quote · check a quote.
Document pack to keep with this answer
Store the handover SoC / load / tariff screenshots beside your CoC and SSEG reference. When a future installer or buyer asks why the system behaves as it does, that folder ends arguments faster than app folklore — read a quote · selling with solar.
Token vs statement — what to export
Prepaid users should export token history plus any reseller app summaries. Conventional customers should PDF the full statement pages that show tariff code and charge breakdown. Cropped “amount due” screenshots are useless for sizing — token tips · prepaid + solar.
TOU columns decoded for solar briefs
Peak / standard / off-peak kWh tell you where self-use and battery discharge should aim. If almost all kWh sits in cheap off-peak already, bill savings from PV shrink and backup/Stage value dominates the case — do I need a battery · TOU + EV.
NMD and supply size clues
Some statements or account letters hint at notified maximum demand or breaker size. Oversized wallboxes and heat-pumps without an NMD plan create connection fights later — NMD · DB upgrade · EV charger cost.
Arrears and disconnections
Clear arrears before commissioning export. Metros and Eskom desks rarely prioritise SSEG niceties on accounts in collections. Solar does not pause interest on unpaid balances.
Hand the same pack to every bidder
Identical 12-month data stops installers from inventing different “average bills”. Score replies on usable kWh, tariff migration honesty, and Stage reserves — check a quote · choose installer · monthly savings.
Common misreads that inflate solar savings
- Using the highest winter token week as “average monthly spend”.
- Ignoring that a large share of the rand total is fixed charges.
- Assuming export will be paid at the same c/kWh you buy.
- Forgetting VAT when comparing installer “ex VAT” savings slides.
- Mixing municipal annexure credits into an Eskom Direct Homeflex model.
Correct those five and many “18-month payback” flyers collapse into honest 6–12 year energy stories — still often worth it for Stage resilience, just not magic — is solar worth it · net billing.
Reseller and farm accounts
Non-residential Eskom tariffs, Notified Maximum Demand and electrification products need a different brief. Do not squeeze a spaza or borehole farm onto a Homelight household flyer — farm solar · small business · demand charges · commercial SSEG.
After solar — how to audit the new bill
Compare kWh imported, not only rands. Check that the tariff code matches what the SSEG team promised. If prepaid migration raised the fixed floor, update your savings tracker in month one — prepaid migration · bill still high · fixed charges.
Photo checklist when you open the PDF
- Account number and supply address.
- Tariff description / code line.
- kWh total and any TOU split table.
- Every fixed / network / capacity rand line.
- VAT line and grand total.
- Any notice about tariff changes or meter swaps.
Store twelve months in one cloud folder shared with bidders. Rename files YYYY-MM-eskom.pdf so nobody models March twice — size system · panel count · inverter size.
Municipal bill twin advice
If you discover mid-process that the account is actually City Power or Cape Town, stop using Homeflex flyers. Restart with the metro annexure and SSEG pages for that city — Joburg · Cape Town SSEG · eThekwini · Tshwane.
Hand-off sentence for your installer email
Use something like: “Attached are 12 months of statements. Tariff code is X. We are prepaid/conventional. Fixed charges average R___. We want Stage essentials of fridge, lights, router for __ hours, and we may add EV/heat-pump in 24 months. Please model self-use on the post-solar tariff you expect us to land on, not on today’s token maths alone.”
That one paragraph blocks most fantasy paybacks. Pair it with roof photos and a single-line sketch if you have one — choose installer · red flags · get quotes · battery need · Stage battery.
If your reseller or municipality portals show half the detail of a classic PDF statement, download both. Cross-check kWh totals; portal rounding and statement rounding sometimes differ enough to confuse a tight payback model. When figures disagree, ask the call centre which source installers should trust before you brief bidders — 2026/27 tariffs · metro tariffs · feed-in overview.
Bring the same discipline to any municipal annexure if you discover mid-quote that you are not Eskom Direct after all. Restart the tariff conversation rather than patching Homeflex assumptions onto a City Power or Cape Town file — that mismatch is how deposits get argued over later — prepaid migration · bi-directional meters.
Where this sits in the quote week
Day 1: export twelve statements. Day 2: send the identical pack to two installers with the hand-off paragraph above. Day 3–5: score usable kWh, Stage reserve, tariff migration and SPD/CoC scope. Do not pay a deposit until both replies use the same bill pack and name the post-solar tariff code — read a quote · check a quote · SSEG cost.
Lines that decide whether solar worked
Circle energy (kWh) charges, any TOU or Homeflex blocks, fixed / capacity / network charges, and VAT. A hybrid that halves kWh but leaves a large fixed line untouched will disappoint if you only watched the prepaid token pace — Homeflex · fixed charges · bill still high.
Before vs after SSEG
Keep three bills: pre-install, post-install before meter change, and post bi-directional meter / tariff code flip. Export cents only appear in the last shape — bi-directional meters · Cape Town cents · Homeflex gen-offset.
Worked homeowner habit
- Photograph the tariff code monthly for six months.
- Export monitoring kWh vs bill kWh; chase CT polarity if they diverge — CT clamps.
- Re-run payback with actual fixed charges, not brochure averages — payback.
Homeflex vs municipal annexures
If the header says Eskom, do not paste Cape Town net-billing cents into the model — Eskom Direct vs municipal.
VAT line still exists after solar
VAT applies to the billed supply. Do not erase it from payback models — VAT on installs is separate from bill VAT.
Quick questions
Is one month of tokens enough to size solar?
No. Seasonal swings and TOU blocks need a fuller year — or a logged meter export.
Will solar remove my Eskom fixed charges?
Generally no. It mainly cuts energy kWh charges; model the floor explicitly.
Homelight looks cheaper — should I stay on it with solar?
Export-capable setups often force a different tariff conversation. Confirm with Eskom Direct / your reseller before you pay a deposit.