The Association of Municipal Electricity Utilities of Southern Africa AMEU has issued a detailed position paper highlighting significant safety compliance gaps in low-voltage small-scale embedded generation SSEG installations of up to 1 MVA, warning municipalities that current practices may expose them to legal liability and undermine public safety.
The paper notes that rapid growth in rooftop PV and other embedded generation has outpaced the development of consistent safety standards, leaving municipalities, installers and customers with unclear guidance on compliance, particularly around competency, testing, commissioning and documentation.
According to the AMEU, municipalities, as licensed electricity distributors, carry an explicit obligation under the Occupational Health and Safety OHS Act not to connect any installation that fails to comply with the Act and associated regulations. This includes SANS 10142-1 for low-voltage wiring, SANS 10142-2 for larger installations and relevant Grid Code requirements applicable to systems up to 1 MVA.