If you thought installing solar panels would help you escape rising electricity costs, think again. The Emfuleni Local Municipality in Gauteng has approved an in-principle proposal that could require homeowners with solar power systems to pay: ⚡ A once-off application fee of R2,400 to register their system. ⚡ A monthly levy of R463 simply because they generate their own electricity. The municipality says this forms part of its small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) policy, but critics argue it's nothing more than a desperate attempt to raise revenue. 📍 Why is this happening? Emfuleni is one of South Africa's worst-performing municipalities financially. Its liabilities exceed its income, and it has struggled with years of poor financial management. One of its biggest financial burdens is its massive debt to Eskom, which stood at approximately R7.74 billion as of January 2026. In fact, the municipality lost control of its electricity distribution and revenue collection to Eskom back in 2023 because it could no longer manage the system effectively. Many believe residents are now being asked to pay the price for years of financial mismanagement. ⚡ Why target solar users? Across South Africa, more households have installed solar systems due to years of load-shedding and rising electricity prices. As more people generate their own electricity, municipalities sell less power, reducing one of their biggest sources of income. To compensate, many municipalities and Eskom have introduced higher fixed charges. However, Emfuleni's proposal goes a step further by charging a dedicated monthly levy purely because a household has solar. Critics argue this discourages people from investing in renewable energy and punishes those who spent their own money to reduce pressure on the national grid. 🏡 How does this compare to other areas? Eskom requires registered solar users to move onto a different electricity tariff but does not charge an additional monthly solar levy. The City of Cape Town offers optional time-of-use tariffs with higher fixed charges but does not impose a separate monthly fee just for owning solar panels. Johannesburg's City Power requires solar users to move to postpaid accounts, which carry much higher fixed monthly costs than prepaid customers, making solar registration less attractive. 📢 What happens next? The proposal still needs to go through a public participation process, where residents will have an opportunity to submit objections before any final decision is made. This debate is likely to become a major issue ahead of South Africa's municipal elections later this year. 💬 Do you think municipalities should charge homeowners extra for installing solar panels, or should people be encouraged to produce their own clean electricity? Let us know in the comments! 👇 #southafricantiktok🇿🇦 #solarpower #Eskom #electricity #loadshedding - @ejv_27