The City of Cape Town’s Pioneering in Small-Scale Embedded Generation (SSEG)

The City of Cape Town has established a pioneering model for integrating small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) into its municipal grid, resulting in approximately 6,400 authorised grid-tied systems and over 140 MVA of installed capacity by June 2024. Driven by escalating national loadshedding and rising electricity costs, the City implemented a series of technical guidelines, feed-in tariffs, and smart metering infrastructure. Key initiatives include the 'Cash for Power' programme, the removal of 'net consumer' requirements to allow full account offsetting, and the 2024 launch of an online application system to reduce administrative backlogs. These efforts have facilitated between R1.7 billion and R2.6 billion in investment and created approximately 713 to 1,140 full-time equivalent jobs in the local green economy.

• By June 2024, the City of Cape Town's SSEG initiatives led to the authorisation of approximately 6,400 grid-tied systems, reaching a total installed capacity of over 140 MVA.
• The SSEG sector has acted as a significant economic driver for Cape Town, facilitating between R1.7 billion and R2.6 billion in investment and creating between 713 and 1,140 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs over the last decade.
• The City implemented several financial mechanisms to incentivise SSEG, including a feed-in tariff introduced in 2014, the removal of 'net consumer' requirements to allow customers to offset their entire municipal electricity account, and a 25 c/kWh incentive top-up introduced in 2023.
• To improve safety and regulatory simplicity, the City mandated that all SSEG systems installed in its electrical supply area must be grid-tied as of October 2023, effectively phasing out off-grid and standby systems.
• The City has transitioned its authorisation process to a digital format via the e-Services platform in 2024 to address application backlogs and increase transparency, although challenges remain regarding customers failing to complete the final commissioning step.
• The City's approach to SSEG is segmented by customer type: commercial and industrial (C&I) systems focus on grid integration and capacity management, while residential strategies focus on reducing administrative burdens for a high volume of smaller applications.

APA

GreenCape (2024). The City of Cape Town’s Pioneering in Small-Scale Embedded Generation (SSEG). https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CCT__SSEG-Case-Study.pdf

Chicago

GreenCape. The City of Cape Town’s Pioneering in Small-Scale Embedded Generation (SSEG). 2024. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CCT__SSEG-Case-Study.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=GreenCape |title=The City of Cape Town’s Pioneering in Small-Scale Embedded Generation (SSEG) |date=2024 |url=https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CCT__SSEG-Case-Study.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greencape2024city, author = {{GreenCape}}, title = {{The City of Cape Town’s Pioneering in Small-Scale Embedded Generation (SSEG)}}, institution = {GreenCape}, year = {2024}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CCT__SSEG-Case-Study.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }