Bankrupt Emfuleni Municipality Wants SA Homeowners To Pay Them for Solar

• Freedom Front Plus opposes Emfuleni's proposed solar power levy ahead of municipal elections
• Residents face a R2,400 fee and a R463 monthly levy for solar installations
• Emfuleni faces backlash over R694 million spent on overtime amidst service delivery failures

EMFULENI, GAUTENG— The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) urged voters to remember a proposed solar power levy when casting their ballots in the municipal elections on 4 November 2026. FF Plus Gauteng deputy leader Gerda Senekal spoke after the bankrupt Emfuleni Local Municipality approved an in-principle proposal targeting self-generating households.

According to My Broadband, residents must pay a R2,400 application fee for solar installations. Households face a monthly levy of R463 after registration. Senekal criticised the plan as a desperate revenue-generation attempt by a municipality that failed to provide sustainable electricity and handed distribution to Eskom in 2023 due to poor financial management.

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Senekal said that residents can oppose the fees during the upcoming public participation process. The municipality, whose previous mayor Sipho Radebe was recalled recently, owes Eskom R7.74 billion in bulk electricity debt. While application fees form part of standard small-scale embedded generation policies across South African utilities, no other municipality explicitly imposes fixed monthly fees based solely on the presence of solar power.

Other utilities like City Power in Johannesburg implicitly penalise solar users by forcing them from prepaid tariffs onto postpaid plans with higher fixed charges. Postpaid users with an 80-amp connection face fees increasing to R1,483 from 1 July 2026, compared to R241.50 for prepaid users. Senekal stated that the Emfuleni levy reflects a wider trend where utilities increase fixed capacity charges to address declining energy sales caused by self-generation, illegal connections, and poor revenue collection.

Emfuleni Overtime Spending Outrage

Similarly, Briefly News reported that Emfuleni Local Municipality is facing severe backlash after the Gauteng Legislature revealed that R694 million was spent on cleaning and environmental services overtime, despite persistent service delivery failures.

Residents endure unbearable conditions, including ongoing sewage leaks, damaged roads, and blocked drains. In Debonair Park and Tshepong, raw sewage has flooded homes and forced the closure of a daycare centre. While frustrated locals question the massive expenditure without visible improvements, the municipality cites a resource shortage.

Source: Briefly News