the South African Local Government Association wants Independent power producers to pay a surcharge to municipalities when they supply electricity to clients within their areas of jurisdiction.
Salga also wants municipalities to ensure they have network charges on their tariff books that are cost-reflective as more consumers install solar panels but remain connected to the electricity grid.
The surcharge demand is based on what SALGA considers to be an exclusive right, reserved in the Constitution, for municipalities to distribute electricity in South Africa.
SALGA says The sale of electricity is one of the main sources of income for municipalities and if someone else does it, the seller must compensate municipalities for the loss of income.
For years Salga has been fighting for Eskom to sign service level agreements with municipalities for sales in municipal areas that Eskom supplies directly.
Such an agreement will provide for a surcharge to be paid to the local municipality.
An inter-ministerial committee approved this in 2018, but little progress has been made with the implementation.