Cape Town - Despite promises made that load shedding will be a thing of the past, Premier Alan Winde said the worsening energy crisis is here to stay with Stage 6 once again implemented on Thursday.
In his Energy Digicon, Winde encouraged businesses and residents to reduce reliance on Eskom and invest in alternative energy systems.
This was said in a discussion about the tax breaks and incentives for alternative energy sources for businesses and residents with director of personal income tax at National Treasury, Marle van Niekerk, yesterday.
Winde said: “If anyone is in doubt about if they should be investing, the answer is yes. If you are able to invest in an energy system, do so.
“We have many months and years ahead of us of fixing the energy crisis and you can play your part by investing in your own energy resilience. There are incentives to do so.”
There are two types of new energy tax incentives available. This is the solar energy tax credit for individuals and the enhanced renewable energy deduction for businesses.
The energy incentives were first referenced in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address and then announced by the finance minister during the Budget speech.
Van Niekerk said that these were still being legislated but in the meantime residents and businesses could claim the incentives.
The solar energy credit for individuals was proposed to encourage people to invest in clean energy generation to supplement energy supply and can be claimed by anyone who pays personal income tax.
They can claim 25% of the value of the cost of solar PV panels, up to a maximum of R15000 per person.
The enhanced renewable energy deduction for businesses was proposed to temporarily enhance the existing renewable energy tax incentive to encourage rapid private investment to alleviate this energy crisis.
This means businesses are encouraged to use renewable energy systems, such as solar PV, solar energy, concentrated solar energy, hydro-power, wind and biomass (organic waste, landfill gas or plant material) to produce energy.
This is available to all businesses registered for corporate income tax and sole proprietors who calculate business income for their personal income tax. Businesses can deduct 125% of the cost of assets that produce renewable energy (previously it was 100%).
To qualify, solar PV panels for individuals and the assets used in the generation of electricity from eligible renewable energy sources for businesses, must be new as well as acquired and brought into use between March 1 this year and February 29 next year.
“For individuals there are a number of requirements in order to claim the incentive. It is only available for new solar PV panels with a minimum capacity of 275W per panel. It must be installed at a residence used mainly for domestic purposes, and the system must also be connected to mains distribution (DB),” Van Niekerk said.
The documentation needed by SARS to verify the claims is an invoice for the solar panels and an electrical Certificate of Compliance. For businesses, the invoice is required by SARS.
Former Eskom executive, Alwie Lester, who joined the Western Cape Government team, added that Eskom’s 52-week outlook, in terms of the likely risk scenario, seemed bleak.
It indicated that load shedding Stage 2 and higher should be expected until mid-November with reserves still being constrained thereafter. The earliest indication of possibly meeting reserves is the week of March 25, 2024.