Commercial solar · Pretoria

Commercial solar for Pretoria businesses

We design, finance, build and operate rooftop solar for businesses across Pretoria, Centurion and the wider City of Tshwane. Our largest published system is here: 778 kWp at Hermanstad Industrial Park.

Hermanstad buys its power from the City of Tshwane at 11 kV, on the city’s time-of-use scale. We work with the City’s tariffs, its rules and its bills every month.

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778 kWp

Hermanstad Industrial Park, our largest published system

Industrial estates in the City's economic strategy

Tshwane business tariff scales: small business, low-voltage time-of-use, 11 kV

Who supplies you

City of Tshwane or Eskom? Check your bill first

Most Pretoria and Centurion businesses buy their electricity from the City of Tshwane, but Eskom supplies some areas of the metro directly. The supplier sets your tariff, your approval process and what solar saves.

Supply follows the distribution licence, not the municipal boundary. Parts of Ga-Rankuwa and Mabopane are reported to be on Eskom supply, and the line between the City’s area and Eskom’s in the east of the metro has been contested in court.

The name on your electricity account settles it. A City of Tshwane account follows the City’s tariffs and approval process. An Eskom account follows Eskom’s, which this page does not cover.

Sources: ourpower.co.za area listings; Dullah Omar Institute local government bulletin, September 2026. Neither list is confirmed by the utilities.

Where we work

Tshwane, corridor by corridor

The City's economic strategy names seventeen industrial estates, spread across its seven regions. We group them, with the office nodes around them, into six corridors. The buildings, the loads and the tariff scale change from one to the next, and so does the design.

Corridor 1

Pretoria West, Hermanstad and Kirkney

Areas: The Pretoria Industrial, Kirkney and Hermanstad estates, west of the city centre.
What is here: Metals, engineering and manufacturing plants; the City's economic development agency counts mining and metals companies among the central region's main investors.
What matters for solar: A plant with an average load above 200 kVA can take supply at 11 kV, where the City charges its fixed charges per metering point, so the metering layout matters as much as the panel layout. A plant that runs around the clock uses solar for the daytime share and buys the rest from the grid.

Our projects here

Hermanstad Industrial ParkHermanstad · 778 kWp

Corridor 2

Rosslyn, Klerksoord and Ga-Rankuwa

Areas: The Rosslyn, Klerksoord and Ga-Rankuwa industrial estates, with Akasia and Pretoria North.

What is here: The City's automotive hub. BMW, Nissan, Tata and Iveco assemble vehicles in Rosslyn, and in 2025 the council approved the Tshwane Automotive City plan, about 7,157 ha around it.

What matters for solar: Suppliers to the assembly lines run long shifts under large roofs, so the daytime load is usually big enough to use everything the roof produces. Parts of Ga-Rankuwa are reported to be on Eskom supply, so check the bill.

Corridor 3

Silverton, Waltloo and Koedoespoort

Areas: Silverton, Silvertondale, Waltloo, Koedoespoort, Samcor Park and the N4 industrial area; the Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone beside Ford's Silverton plant.

What is here: The east's manufacturing belt, five industrial parks in the City's count.

What matters for solar: On the low-voltage and 11 kV time-of-use scales, weekday output from mid-morning to late afternoon displaces standard-rate energy, so a plant working day shifts gets the most from its roof.

Corridor 4

Centurion

Areas: Sunderland Ridge, Rooihuiskraal, Hennopspark, Irene, Gateway, Louwlardia and Samrand.

What is here: Manufacturing parks, and the logistics and warehousing hub at Louwlardia between the Brakfontein interchange and Samrand, where national retailers run distribution centres.

What matters for solar: A warehouse roof can carry more panels than the building uses during the day. With export valued at zero until the City pays for it, the daytime load sets the size, not the roof.

Corridor 5

Pretoria CBD, Hatfield, Brooklyn and Menlyn

Areas: The inner city and the metropolitan office nodes at Hatfield, Brooklyn, Menlyn and the Centurion CBD.

What is here: Office towers, campuses and retail centres.

What matters for solar: A tall building has little roof for each square metre of floor, so solar carries a smaller share of the load. A building averaging more than 50 kVA sits on the low-voltage time-of-use scale, where midday output displaces standard-rate energy.

Corridor 6

Babelegi and Ekandustria

Areas: Babelegi near Hammanskraal in the north, and Ekandustria near Bronkhorstspruit in the east.

What is here: Older industrial estates the City is working to revive.

What matters for solar: On an older factory building, a structural check of the roof comes before the panel layout, and the supplier should be confirmed from the bill.

The corridors at a glance

Corridor	The City's industrial estates	Business areas people search
Pretoria West, Hermanstad and Kirkney	Pretoria Industrial, Kirkney, Hermanstad	Pretoria West, Pretoria
Rosslyn, Klerksoord and Ga-Rankuwa	Rosslyn, Klerksoord, Ga-Rankuwa	Pretoria North, Akasia
Silverton, Waltloo and Koedoespoort	Silverton, Silvertondale, Waltloo, Koedoespoort, Samcor Park	Pretoria East
Centurion	Sunderland Ridge, Rooihuiskraal, Hennopspark, Irene	Centurion
Pretoria CBD, Hatfield, Brooklyn and Menlyn	(office nodes)	Pretoria, Hatfield, Menlyn
Babelegi and Ekandustria	Babelegi, Ekandustria	Hammanskraal, Bronkhorstspruit

Source: Tshwane Economic Development Agency, Tshwane Economic Revitalisation Strategy 2025 and Tshwane Investment Offerings (February 2026).

City of Tshwane approval

What the City of Tshwane needs before your system connects

Every grid-connected business system must be registered with the City of Tshwane, whether or not it ever exports.

No export without approval. The City allows feed-in only once it has approved the system, a bidirectional meter is in place and the City has inspected the installation. Until then, we design every system to use its own output.

A published meter price. Tshwane is the only Gauteng metro that publishes what its bidirectional meter costs: R12,785.39 for a low-voltage three-phase supply up to 100 A, and R13,838.30 at medium voltage (2025/26 tariff gazette).

The application pack. The inverter's NRS 097-2-1 certificate and a Certificate of Compliance from a registered electrical contractor, with the design documents.

Above 100 kW, NERSA too. NERSA registers grid-connected systems above 100 kW directly, after the City has approved the connection.

We prepare and submit the application to the City and arrange its inspection.

Who may do the work and who signs it off is set out in our guide to choosing a solar EPC partner. See also SSEG in the glossary.

Sources: City of Tshwane 2025/26 tariff gazette (LAN 648), Part III; NERSA statement, 2 February 2026.

The bill

What solar takes off a Tshwane bill

Every kWh your roof produces and the building uses comes off the bill at your scale's energy rate for that hour.

Small business scale (up to 150 A).

Energy is charged at one flat rate all year, so every solar kWh saves the same amount.

Low-voltage and 11 kV time-of-use scales.

The City uses Eskom's seasonal clock. On weekdays, output from mid-morning to late afternoon displaces standard-rate energy; weekends are mostly off-peak. Public holidays are billed as the weekday they fall on.

Demand charges.

Demand is billed on the month's highest half-hour in every period, with minimums of 30 kVA on the low-voltage scale and 140 kVA at 11 kV. There is no floor carried over from past months, so a lower peak counts in the month it happens. One cloudy afternoon can still put the peak back. Across the systems we operate, the reduction is typically about 10%, within a range of 5% to 25%: a bonus on top of the energy saving, never part of the case.

No reactive energy charge.

Tshwane's business scales carry none, although a poor power factor still raises the kVA you pay for.

What stays.

Fixed charges stay; at 11 kV they are charged per metering point.

Export.

The City publishes an export credit, but pays it only after it approves feed-in. Value it at zero until it does.

The rates, the clock and the demand rules are on our page on Tshwane electricity tariffs for 2026/27, and how demand is billed is in kVA and maximum demand charges in Gauteng.

Cost

What commercial solar costs in Pretoria

Our installed prices run from about R10,400 per kWp for a 50 kWp system to about R6,700 per kWp at 1 MWp, excluding VAT, for a grid-tied rooftop system.

System size	Installed price, ex VAT	Per kWp
50 kWp	R520,000	R10,400
100 kWp	R870,000	R8,700
200 kWp	R1,570,000	R7,850
500 kWp	R3,620,000	R7,240
1,000 kWp	R6,700,000	R6,700

A business that owns its system can deduct the full cost in the first year under Section 12B, for systems up to 1 MW. At the 27% company tax rate, that is R270,000 less tax per R1 million spent, a cashflow benefit in year one. You can also finance the system, or buy the power instead of the panels under a power purchase agreement or a partnership.

What moves the price, and what the bands exclude, is in our commercial solar cost guide.

How we work

From your meter data to 25 years of operation

1. Design

We start from your meter's interval data and twelve months of bills. We check the supplier and the tariff, then size the system to what the building uses during the day.

2. Finance

Cash, finance, a power purchase agreement or a partnership.

3. Build

We prepare and submit the City of Tshwane application, arrange its inspection, and manage the installation by registered contractors through to commissioning.

4. Operate

We monitor every system we operate and act on what the data shows, for the life of the asset.

Will solar keep my business running in a power cut?

A grid-tied system switches off when the grid goes down, as the safety standard requires. To keep running, a business needs a hybrid inverter and a battery, sized to the loads it must carry. How long the battery lasts depends on its charge when the outage starts and on the load connected.

Common questions

Commercial solar in Pretoria: FAQs

How much does commercial solar cost in Pretoria?

Our installed prices run from about R520,000 for a 50 kWp system (R10,400 per kWp) to about R6.7 million for 1 MWp (R6,700 per kWp), excluding VAT, for a grid-tied rooftop system. The price per kWp falls as the system grows. Roof structure, access, cabling distance and the grid connection move a specific quote.

Do I need City of Tshwane approval for a business solar system?

Yes. Every grid-connected system must be registered with the City, whether or not it exports. Feeding power into the grid also needs the City's approval, a bidirectional meter and an inspection.

Does Tshwane pay for solar power fed into the grid?

Only after it approves the system for feed-in. The City publishes an export credit, but pays it only once the system is approved, metered with a bidirectional meter and inspected. Size the system to what the building uses during the day and treat export income as a bonus.

Is my business supplied by the City of Tshwane or Eskom?

Check the name on your electricity account. Most Pretoria and Centurion businesses buy from the City of Tshwane, but parts of Ga-Rankuwa and Mabopane are reported to be on Eskom supply. The supplier sets your tariff and your approval process.

Does solar work during load shedding or a power cut?

A grid-tied system does not: it switches off when the grid fails, as the safety standard requires. A hybrid system with a battery keeps the connected loads running for as long as the battery's charge allows.

Will solar reduce my demand charge in Tshwane?

Sometimes, and never dependably. Tshwane bills each month's own highest half-hour with no floor from past months, so a lower peak counts straight away, but one cloudy afternoon can put it back. Across the systems we operate, the billed peak typically falls by about 10%, within a range of 5% to 25%.

Is there a power-factor charge in Tshwane?

No. Tshwane's business scales have no reactive energy charge. A poor power factor still raises the kVA demand you pay for, so it is worth correcting.

Which parts of Tshwane do you work in?

All of them. Our published project is at Hermanstad Industrial Park in Hermanstad. We also work in Rosslyn, Silverton, Centurion and the city's office nodes.

Can my business claim Section 12B on a solar system?

Yes, if the business owns the system. Section 12B allows 100% of the cost as a deduction in the first year for systems up to 1 MW, worth R270,000 less tax per R1 million at the 27% company rate. A business that buys power under a power purchase agreement cannot claim it; the system's owner does.

Start with your meter data

Send us twelve months of electricity bills, or your meter's interval data if you have it. We'll check your supplier and tariff, and tell you what size of system your roof and your load support.

Get an assessment See all our projects Tshwane tariffs 2026/27