10 August 2026
Solar PV Installations: Industry Certificates Do Not Replace Statutory Registration
Focus on the statutory registrations first — industry certificates are supplementary
With the rapid growth of solar PV installations in South Africa, programmes such as the PV GreenCard, AREP P4, ECA(SA) PV Training Certificate and other industry training or recognition programmes have become increasingly visible.
These programmes can provide useful additional training and promote good industry practice. The problem arises when banks, insurers, municipalities, property owners and other end users place greater emphasis on these voluntary certificates than on the statutory registrations required by law.
A GreenCard, P4 certificate, ECA(SA) PV Training Certificate or similar industry credential is not a substitute for registration in terms of the Electrical Installation Regulations. These industry certificates are not electrical contractor or registered-person registrations under the Electrical Installation Regulations and do not, by themselves, provide statutory authority to undertake, control or certify electrical installation work.
What should you check first?
Before appointing a contractor to undertake a solar PV electrical installation, the first questions should be:
- Is the person or business registered as an electrical contractor in terms of the Electrical Installation Regulations?
- Is the electrical contractor itself an appropriately registered person, or does it employ an appropriately registered person on a full-time basis?
- Will the electrical installation work be carried out under the general control of an appropriately registered person acting within the scope of his or her registration?
The Electrical Installation Regulations require a person undertaking electrical installation work as an electrical contractor to be registered as an electrical contractor. The contractor must either be a registered person or employ a registered person on a full-time basis.
The Regulations also require electrical installation work to be carried out under the general control of a registered person, which includes instruction, guidance and supervision of the work.
It is this statutory framework — not an industry training certificate — that provides the legal authority and accountability for the electrical installation.
A solar installation cannot simply be “signed off” afterwards
A company that is not registered as an electrical contractor in terms of the Electrical Installation Regulations should not itself undertake the solar PV electrical installation work and then, once the work is complete, bring in a registered person who did not exercise general control over that work merely to inspect it and issue a Certificate of Compliance.
The electrical installation work must be undertaken through a registered electrical contractor and carried out under the general control of an appropriately registered person acting within the scope of his or her registration, which includes instruction, guidance and supervision of the work.
For a new electrical installation, or for extensions or alterations to an existing electrical installation, the registered person issuing the CoC must satisfy himself or herself that the applicable installation work complies with the requirements and was carried out under his or her general control.
An inspection at the end of the installation cannot substitute for the general control required while the electrical installation work is being carried out.
Where do GreenCard, P4, ECA(SA) PV Training Certificate and other certificates fit in?
Industry training and recognition programmes can be valuable. They may demonstrate additional PV training, technical development or participation in a quality programme.
They are, however, supplementary industry credentials — not statutory registrations or licences.
This applies equally to the PV GreenCard, AREP P4, ECA(SA) PV Training Certificate and similar industry programmes.
The ECA(SA)’s message to consumers, banks, insurers, municipalities and other organisations is therefore straightforward:
Do not use an industry certificate as your primary test of whether someone may legally undertake a solar PV electrical installation.
First establish that the work is being undertaken by an electrical contractor registered in terms of the Electrical Installation Regulations, under the general control of an appropriately registered person acting within the scope of his or her registration.
Industry certificates may then be considered as additional evidence of training or professional development.
The key point
The PV GreenCard, AREP P4, ECA(SA) PV Training Certificate and similar industry certificates are useful additions. They are not the statutory authority to undertake electrical installation work.
Registration of the electrical contractor and the responsible registered person in terms of the Electrical Installation Regulations comes first.
Grant Seeman
National Technical Advisor / Secretary
Electrical Contractors’ Association (South Africa)
