Cape Town is often praised for having one of South Africa’s most progressive residential solar programmes, but the rollout has not been without controversy. Kadri Nassiep, Executive Director of City Electricity at the City of Cape Town, speaks to John Maytham about the City’s approach to encouraging solar uptake. Households can benefit from incentives including cash or bill credits for excess power fed back into the grid and the City has paid millions to residents for their contributions. Some administration fees have been reduced to make solar adoption easier. However, critics argue that additional costs such as feed-in meters and fixed infrastructure charges make participation complicated and expensive, particularly for middle-income households, high-value properties, and those using less municipal electricity. More than 14 000 objections and petitions have been lodged against the City’s tariff structures, with residents saying that fixed charges disproportionately affect disposable income. The City maintains that charges are necessary to cover the cost of pipes, cables, and staff, even as more households generate their own power, highlighting the tension between supporting renewable energy and maintaining municipal infrastructure funding.

Presenter John Maytham is an actor and author-turned-talk radio veteran and seasoned journalist. His show serves a round-up of local and international news coupled with the latest in business, sport, traffic and weather. The host’s eclectic interests mean the program often surprises the audience with intriguing book reviews and inspiring interviews profiling artists. 

A daily highlight is Rapid Fire, just after 5:30pm. CapeTalk fans call in, to stump the presenter with their general knowledge questions. Another firm favourite is the humorous Thursday crossing with award-winning journalist Rebecca Davis, called “Plan B”. 

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