NERSA Registration & Solar Wheeling.
Registration and licensing of generation facilities with NERSA, grid-connection and use-of-system agreements with Eskom or the municipality, and the power purchase agreements that make a wheeling deal bankable. One fixed all-in fee, with regulator, municipal and utility application fees included.
Most embedded generation, including solar, no longer needs a NERSA generation licence following the 2021 amendment to Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act, which removed the old capacity thresholds for licensing exemption. Registration with NERSA is still required for almost all generators, and wheeling still needs a use-of-system agreement with the network operator.
Governing legislation: Electricity Regulation Act 4 of 2006, with the licensing and registration regulations made under it.
Last reviewed: 2026-09-17
This is the first step of your generation registration or wheeling mandate. No payment is needed to begin, and the eligibility check is step one inside the application.
Financial close or a tenant deadline? Call or WhatsApp us — these files are triaged the same day.
Registration, connection and offtake — in the right order.
Wheeling projects fail on sequence, not merit. The regulator, the network owner and the environmental department each hold a veto, and each has its own clock. We run all three in parallel so the project reaches financial close instead of sitting in a queue.
Commercial solar & wheeling
Rooftop, carport and ground-mount plants wheeling power to tenants, sister entities or third-party offtakers.
NERSA registration & licensing
Registration for embedded and own-use generation, and full generation, trading or distribution licences where the threshold is crossed.
Grid connection agreements
Cost-estimate letters, budget quotes, connection and use-of-system agreements with Eskom or the municipality.
Power purchase agreements
PPAs, wheeling and offtake terms drafted or negotiated for landlords, developers, IPPs and corporate buyers.
Tariffs & objections
Tariff submissions, objections and appeals against regulator or municipal decisions affecting your project economics.
Ongoing compliance
Licence and registration conditions, grid-code compliance, annual returns and metering obligations.
Free assessment
Six questions. We confirm the registration route, the environmental trigger and the grid position.
Fixed quote
One written all-in fee before any work starts. Regulator, municipal and utility fees included.
We prepare & lodge
Registration or licence application, connection application and the agreements prepared and lodged.
Through to decision
We answer every query from NERSA and the utility until the approvals are issued.
Packages for every stage of the project.
From a small rooftop registration to a licensed utility-scale programme. Every mandate is quoted upfront in writing, all-in — NERSA, municipal and utility fees included.
Registration for a small-scale embedded generation plant under 100 kW that does not need a full licence.
- Rooftop, carport and own-use plants below the licensing threshold
- NERSA registration pack drafted and lodged
- Municipal small-scale embedded generation approval and metering application
- Written confirmation that you are exempt from licensing
- All NERSA and municipal application fees included
A written regulatory opinion on your project before you commit capital: registration or licence, environmental triggers, grid route.
- Confirms whether the plant needs NERSA registration or a full licence
- Confirms which environmental authorisation route applies under NEMA
- Grid-connection and wheeling feasibility position with the utility or municipality
- Land-use, servitude and lease issues flagged before design is locked
- Written opinion with the filing plan, timeline and total cost
- All statutory and departmental fees included
A full electricity licence application through to decision where the plant or activity crosses the licensing threshold.
- Generation, trading, distribution or import/export licence applications
- Full application pack and supporting affidavits
- Public participation and objection handling
- Representations at the regulator's hearings
- Tariff submissions, objections and appeals against regulator or municipal decisions
- All regulator application and licence fees included
Registration of an embedded or own-use generation facility, with the connection paperwork run to signature.
- NERSA registration pack drafted and lodged
- Cost-estimate letter, budget quote and connection application with the utility
- Use-of-system and connection agreement reviewed and negotiated
- Grid-code and metering compliance conditions addressed
- All NERSA and utility application fees included
- We stay on the file until registration is issued
The full commercial package for industrial property owners and developers wheeling power to a tenant or offtaker.
- NERSA registration or generation licence, whichever applies
- Power purchase agreement drafted or negotiated for buyer or seller
- Wheeling, use-of-system and connection agreements with Eskom or the municipality
- Trading and tariff structure reviewed against the regulator's rules
- Environmental screening and NEMA trigger analysis included
- Named lead advisor, phased fee against project milestones
- All regulator, utility and departmental fees included
Multi-site or utility-scale programmes: several plants, several offtakers, one regulatory workstream.
- Multi-site registrations, licences and environmental authorisations
- Master PPA and wheeling framework for a tenant portfolio
- Regulatory strategy, tariff modelling support and lender due diligence packs
- Compliance calendar, licence conditions and annual returns managed
- Objections, enforcement and appeals handled
- Hard price cap — you never pay above the quoted number
All-in fixed fees, with no hidden fees. Our professional work, the drafted applications and agreements, all NERSA, municipal and utility application fees, public participation costs and all dealings with the regulator until a decision are included. Only the utility's physical connection and infrastructure charge, and construction or equipment costs, fall outside the fee.
How long it actually takes.
We separate our preparation time, which we control, from the authority's decision time, which we do not. Ranges are based on comparable files.
Regulatory readiness review
Small-scale registration (SSEG)
NERSA registration & connection
Generation, trading or distribution licence
Wheeling & PPA package
We cannot guarantee a government decision date. What we do guarantee is a complete file, lodged on time, with every query answered until a decision is issued.
Energy regulatory team
Led by a named advisor on every project file
Dynamic Legal Services (Pty) Ltd
Offices in Pretoria (Faerie Glen) and Sandton (Sandown) — serving all nine provinces
087 153 6207 · support@dlegal.co.za
Why clients hand us the file.
- Most wheeling projects fail on sequence — registration, connection and environmental filings have to be run in the right order.
- We act for industrial property owners, developers, IPPs and corporate offtakers across all provinces.
- PPAs, wheeling and use-of-system agreements are drafted to survive lender and utility review.
- Municipal offtake and metering is where most deals lose months. We front-load that conversation.
- Portfolio mandates carry a hard written cap, so you never receive an open-ended bill.
Your application starts here.
One application. Answer a few questions, see exactly which route applies to you and what it costs, then send it through. Documents can follow later, and nothing is payable to open the file.
Start your generation & wheeling application.
Six quick questions. We tell you whether you need NERSA registration or a licence, which environmental route applies, and where the grid connection sits. Nothing to pay to start.
Step 1 of your application
What are you trying to do?
Guides
Understand the process before you commit.
NERSA registration & solar wheeling
Registration or licence, what a wheeling arrangement actually involves, grid-connection reality and where municipal offtake breaks deals.
Read the guideEnvironmental authorisation
When a ground-mount plant, substation or line triggers a listed activity under NEMA, and what the assessment route costs.
Read the guideStarted without authorisation?
Section 24G rectification for plants and infrastructure built ahead of the environmental approval.
Read the guideQuestions
Straight answers before you apply.
Do I need a NERSA licence or only a registration?
Most commercial generation up to the current threshold is registered with NERSA rather than licensed, while trading, distribution and many third-party wheeling arrangements need a full licence. Own-use plants below 100 kW are typically registration and a municipal small-scale embedded generation approval only. Our free assessment confirms which route your project falls into before you commit capital.
How long does NERSA registration take?
We take 10 to 20 business days to lodge once we have the plant details. NERSA registration typically takes 2 to 4 months, and a full licence application longer because of public participation and the regulator's decision cycle. The utility's connection offer runs in parallel and takes anywhere from 1 to 6 months.
What does it cost?
Fixed all-in fees, quoted upfront in writing: R25,000 for a small-scale registration, R35,000 for a written readiness review, R95,000 for registration with the grid connection run to signature, R185,000 for the full wheeling and PPA package, and a capped R450,000 for multi-site portfolios. NERSA, municipal and utility application fees are included.
Where do you work?
From our offices in Pretoria (Faerie Glen) and Sandton (Sandown) we act on generation registration, wheeling and grid-connection projects in all nine provinces.
Waiting on NERSA or a connection offer?
Book a confidential consultation. We respond within one business day.
Last reviewed: 2026-09-17
Written and reviewed by Dynamic Legal Services (Pty) Ltd, registration 2016/074955/07. Registered with the Department of Water and Sanitation, EAPASA applicant. Offices in Faerie Glen, Pretoria and Sandown, Sandton. Telephone 087 153 6207, support@dlegal.co.za. General information on South African regulatory practice, not advice on a specific matter — the first consultation is free.