Related documents
- Is amended by Electricity Supply By-law: Amendment
Cape Town
South Africa
South Africa
Electricity Supply By-law, 2010
- Published in Western Cape Provincial Gazette 6727 on 16 April 2010
- Commenced on 16 April 2010
- [This is the version of this document from 11 August 2018 and includes any amendments published up to 1 November 2024.]
- [Amended by Electricity Supply By-law: Amendment on 11 August 2018]
Chapter 1
General
1. Definitions
In this by-law, unless inconsistent with the context—"applicable standard specification" means the standard specifications as listed in Schedule 1 attached to this by-law;"certificate of compliance" means a certificate issued in terms of the Regulations in respect of an electrical installation or part of an electrical installation by an registered person;"civil work permit" means a permit issued to an applicant for a wayleave granting that applicant consent for the civil work to be undertaken;"consumer" in relation to premises means—(i)any occupier thereof;(ii)any person who has a valid existing agreement with the Service Provider for the supply of electricity to such premises; or(iii)the owner of the premises.[definition of "consumer" substituted by section 1(a) of the Electricity Supply Amendment By-law, 2017]"credit meter" means a meter where an account is issued subsequent to the consumption of electricity;"Director" means the Director of the Service Provider, any other person lawfully acting in that capacity and any employee of the Service Provider duly authorized thereto by such Director or person so acting;"effective date" means the date on which the responsibility for the delivery of the electricity service is transferred to the Service Provider;"electrical contractor" means an electrical contractor as defined in the Regulations;"electrical installation" means an electrical installation as defined in the Regulations;"high voltage" means the set of nominal voltage levels that are used in power systems for bulk transmission of electricity in the range of 44 kV Un # 220 kV. [SANS 1019]"low voltage" means the set of nominal voltage levels that are used for the distribution of electricity and whose upper limit is generally accepted to be an a.c. voltage of 1000V (or a d.c. voltage of 1500 V). [SANS 1019]"medium voltage" means the set of nominal voltage levels that lie above low voltage and below high voltage in the range of 1 kV Un # 44 kV. [SANS 1019]"meter" means a device which records the demand and/or the electrical energy consumed and includes conventional and prepayment meters;"motor load, total connected" means the sum total of the kW input ratings of all the individual motors connected to an installation;"motor rating" means the maximum continuous kW output of a motor as stated on the maker’s rating plate;"motor starting current" in relation to alternating current motors means the root mean square value of the symmetrical current taken by a motor when energised at its rated voltage with its starter in the starting position and the rotor locked;"occupier" in relation to any premises means—(a)any person in actual occupation of such premises;(b)any person legally entitled to occupy such premises;(c)in the case of such premises being subdivided and let to lodgers or various tenants, the person receiving the rent payable by such lodgers or tenants, whether on his own account or as agent for any person entitled thereto or interested therein; or(d)any person in control of such premises or responsible for the management thereof, and includes the agent of any such person when he/she is absent from the Republic of South Africa or his/her whereabouts are unknown;"owner" in relation to premises, means the person in whom is vested the legal title thereto; provided that—(a)in the case of immovable property—(i)leased for a period of not less than 50 years, whether the lease is registered or not, the lessee thereof, or(ii)beneficially occupied under a servitude or right analogous thereto, the occupier thereof;(b)if the owner as hereinbefore defined—(i)is deceased or insolvent, has assigned his estate for the benefit of his creditors, has been placed under curatorship by order of court or is a company being wound up or under judicial management, the person in whom the administration of such property is vested as executor, administrator, trustee, assignee, curator, liquidator or judicial manager, as the case may be;(ii)is absent from the Republic of South Africa, or if his address is unknown to the Service Provider, any person who as agent or otherwise receives or is entitled to receive the rent in respect of such property; and(iii)if the Service Provider is unable to determine who such person is, the person who is entitled to the beneficial use of such property,shall be deemed to be the owner thereof to the exclusion of the person in whom is vested the legal title thereto;"point of consumption" means a point of consumption as defined in the Regulations;"point of metering" means the point at which the consumer’s consumption of electricity is metered and which may be at the point of supply or at any other point on the distribution system of the Service Provider or the electrical installation of the consumer, as specified by the Service Provider or any duly authorised official of the Service Provider; provided that it shall meter all of, and only, the consumer’s consumption of electricity;"point of supply" means the point determined by the Service Provider or any duly authorised official of the Service Provider at which electricity is supplied to any premises by the Service Provider;"premises" means any land or any building or structure above or below ground level, or part thereof, and includes any vehicle, aircraft or vessel;"prepayment meter" means a meter that can be programmed to allow the flow of pre-purchased amounts of energy in an electrical circuit; "registered person" means a person registered in terms of the Regulations as an electrical tester for single phase, an installation electrician or a master installation electrician, as the case may be;"Regulations" means Regulations made in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act 85 of 1993);"retail wheeling" means the process of moving third party electricity from a point of generation across the distribution systems of the Service Provider and selling it to a customer;"safety standard" means the Code of Practice for the Wiring of Premises SANS 10142-1 incorporated in the Regulations; "Service Authority" means the City of Cape Town, a metropolitan municipality established in terms of the law;"service connection" means all cables and equipment, including all metering equipment, load management equipment, all high, medium or low voltage switchgear and cables required to connect the supply mains to the electrical installation of the consumer at the point of supply;"service protective device" means any fuse or circuit breaker installed for the purpose of protecting the Service Provider’s equipment from overloads or faults occurring on the installation or on the internal service connection;"Service Provider" means the Service Authority and any entity duly authorized by the Service Authority to provide an electricity service within the jurisdiction of the Service Authority, in accordance with the provision of the Service Delivery Agreement concluded with the Service Authority;"standby supply" means an alternative electricity supply from the Service Provider not normally used by the consumer;"supply mains" means any part of the Service Provider’s electricity distribution network;"tariff" means the Service Provider’s tariff of charges for the supply of electricity and sundry fees, as approved by the Service Authority;"temporary supply" means an electricity supply required by a consumer for a period normally less than one year;"the law" means any applicable law, proclamation, ordinance, act of parliament or enactment having force of law;"token" means the essential element of a prepayment metering system used to transfer information from a point of sale for electricity credit to a prepayment meter and vice versa;"voltage" means the root-mean-square value of electrical potential between two conductors;"wayleave" means the set of documentation providing information on the location of the supply mains of the Service Provider within the physical area covered by an application to undertake civil work within the municipal area and stipulates the conditions applicable to the work to be done in the vicinity of the affected supply mains.2. Other terms
All other terms used in this by-law shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the meaning assigned thereto in the Electricity Regulation Act, 2006 (Act 4 of 2006), as amended, or the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act 85 of 1993), as amended.3. Headings and titles
The headings and titles in this by-law shall not affect the construction thereof.Chapter 2
General conditions of supply
4. Provision of electricity services
5. Electricity Supply
6. Service of notice
7. Compliance with notices
Any person on whom a notice duly issued or given under this by-law is served shall, within the time specified in such notice, comply with its terms.8. Application for supply
9. Processing of requests for supply
Applications for the supply of electricity will be processed and the supply made available within the periods stipulated in NRS 047.10. Servitudes on private property
11. Statutory servitude
12. Right of admittance to inspect, test and/or do maintenance work
13. Refusal or failure to give information
14. Refusal of admittance
No person shall wilfully hinder, obstruct, interfere with or refuse admittance to any duly authorised official of the Service Provider in the performance of his duty under this by-law or of any duty connected therewith or relating thereto.15. Improper use
16. Electricity tariffs and fees
Copies of charges and fees may be obtained free of charge at the offices of the Service Provider.17. Deposits
18. Payment of charges
19. Interest on overdue accounts
The Service Provider may charge interest on accounts which are not paid by the due date appearing on the account, in terms of an approved Credit Control and Debt Collection Policy and any related indigent support.20. Principles for the resale of electricity
21. Right to disconnect supply
22. Non-liability of the service authority or service provider
Neither the Service Authority nor the Service Provider shall be liable for any loss or damage, direct or consequential, suffered or sustained by a consumer as a result of or arising from the cessation, interruption or any other abnormality of the supply of electricity, unless caused by negligence on the part of the Service Authority or the Service Provider.23. Leakage of electricity
Under no circumstances shall any rebate be allowed on the account for electricity supplied and metered in respect of electricity wasted owing to leakage or any other fault in the electrical installation.24. Failure of supply
25. Seals of the service provider
The meter, service protective devices and all apparatus belonging to the Service Provider shall be sealed or locked by a duly authorised official of the Service Provider, and no person not being an official of the Service Provider duly authorised thereto shall in any manner or for any reason whatsoever remove, break, deface, or tamper or interfere with such seals or locks.26. Tampering with service connection or supply mains
27. Protection of service provider’s supply mains
28. Prevention of tampering with service connection or supply mains
If the Director decides that it is necessary or desirable to take special precautions in order to prevent tampering with any portion of the supply mains, service connection or service protective device or meter or metering equipment, the consumer shall either supply and install the necessary protection or pay the costs involved where such protection is supplied by the Service Provider.29. Unauthorised connections
No person other than a person specifically authorised thereto by the Director in writing shall directly or indirectly connect, attempt to connect or cause or permit to be connected any electrical installation or part thereof to the supply mains or service connection.30. Unauthorised reconnections
31. Temporary disconnection and reconnection
32. Temporary supplies
It shall be a condition of the giving of any temporary supply of electricity, as defined in this by-law, that, if such supply is found to interfere with the efficient and economical supply of electricity to other consumers, the Service Provider shall have the right, with notice, or under exceptional circumstances without notice, to terminate such temporary supply at any time and, neither the Service Authority nor the Service Provider shall be liable for any loss or damage occasioned by the consumer by such termination.33. Temporary work
34. Load reduction
35. High, medium and low voltage switchgear and equipment
36. Substation accommodation
37. Wiring diagram and specification
38. Standby supply
No person shall be entitled to a standby supply of electricity from the Service Provider for any premises having a separate source of electricity supply except with the written consent of the Director and subject to such terms and conditions as may be laid down by the Director.39. Consumer’s electricity generation equipment
40. Technical standards
The Director may from time to time issue Technical Standards detailing the requirements of the Service Provider regarding matters not specifically covered in the Regulations or this by-law but which are necessary for the safe, efficient operation and management of the supply of electricity.Chapter 3
Responsibilities of consumers
41. Consumer to erect and maintain electrical installation
Any electrical installation connected or to be connected to the supply mains, and any additions or alterations thereto which may be made from time to time, shall be provided and erected and maintained and kept in good order by the consumer at his own expense and in accordance with this by-law and the Regulations.42. Fault in electrical installation
43. Discontinuance of use of supply
In the event of a consumer desiring to discontinue using the electricity supply, he/she shall give at least two full working days’ notice in writing of such intended discontinuance to the Service Provider, failing which he/she shall remain liable for all payments due in terms of the tariff for the supply of electricity until the expiration of two full working days after such notice has been given.44. Change of consumer
45. Service apparatus
Chapter 4
Specific conditions of supply
46. Service connection
47. Metering accommodation
Chapter 5
Systems of supply
48. Nominal supply voltage
The nominal supply voltage at which a supply is given shall be determined by the Service Provider as necessitated by technical considerations to ensure the efficient operation of the supply mains.49. Load requirements
Alternating current supplies shall be given as prescribed by the Electricity Regulation Act, 2006 (Act 4 of 2006), and in the absence of a quality of supply agreement, as set out in the applicable standard specification.50. Load limitations
51. Interference with other persons’ electrical equipment
52. Supplies to motors
Unless otherwise approved by the Director the rating of motors shall be limited as follows:Insulated service cable, size in mm2, copper equivalent mm2 | Maximum permissible starting current A | Maximum motor rating in kW | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Direct on line (6x full-load current) | Star/Delta (2,5 x full-load current) | Other means (1,5 x full-load current) | ||
kW | kW | kW | ||
16 | 72 | 6 | 13,5 | 23 |
25 | 95 | 7,5 | 18 | 30 |
35 | 115 | 9 | 22 | 36,5 |
50 | 135 | 10 | 25 | 45 |
70 | 165 | 13 | 31 | 55 |
95 | 200 | 16 | 38 | 67 |
120 | 230 | 18 | 46 | 77 |
150 | 260 | 20 | 52 | 87 |
53. Power factor
54. Protection
Electrical protective devices for motors shall be of such a design as effectively to prevent sustained overcurrent and single phasing, where applicable.Chapter 6
Measurement of electricity
55. Metering
56. Accuracy of metering
57. Reading of credit meters
58. Prepayment metering
Chapter 7
Electrical contractors
59. Electrical contractors’ responsibilities
In addition to the requirements of the Regulations the following requirements shall apply:60. Work done by electrical contractors
Neither the Service Authority nor the Service Provider shall be held responsible for the work done by the electrical contractor/registered person on a consumer’s premises and shall not in any way be responsible for any loss or damage which may be occasioned by fire or by any accident arising from the state of the wiring on the premises.Chapter 8
Cost of work
61. Repair of damage
The Service Provider may repair and make good any damage done in contravention of this by-law or resulting from a contravention of this by-law. The cost of any such work carried out by the Service Provider which was necessary due to the contravention of this by-law, shall be to the account of the person who acted in contravention of this by-law.Chapter 9
Penalties
62. Penalties
Chapter 10
Repeal of by-laws
63. Repeal of by-laws
The City of Cape Town Electricity Supply By-law promulgated under Provincial Notice No. 6114 on 12 March 2004 is hereby repealed.64. Short Title
This By-law is called the City of Cape Town Electricity Supply By-law, 2010.[section 64 inserted by section 8 of the of the Electricity Supply Amendment By-law, 2017]History of this document
11 August 2018 this version
Amended by
Electricity Supply: Amendment