THE Deputy Minister of Electricity and Energy, Samantha Graham-Maré, has alerted owners of large public and private buildings that they have until 7 December 2025 to register for an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).
The EPC is part of the Department of Electricity and Energy’s (DEE) and South African National Energy Development Institute’s (Sanedi) priority to promote energy efficiency in South Africa.
According to the DEE, since its launch in December 2020, 8,195 buildings have been registered, and 4,539 EPCs have been issued until 04 November 2025. Of these, Gauteng leads with 2,945 registrations and 1,936 issued EPCs. The Western Cape follows with 2,379 registrations and 1,849 issued EPCs. The Northern Cape has the fewest, with 80 registrations and 18 EPCs issued.
Buildings registered and issued EPCs in other provinces are:
- Kwa-Zulu Natal 1,068 and 355
- Eastern Cape 497 and 118
- Mpumalanga 358 and 76
- Free State 618 and 96
- Limpopo 137 and 50
- North West 113 and 41
According to the regulations, all state-owned buildings that are 1,000 sqm and owners of commercial buildings of 2,000 sqm that fall under the occupancy classifications: A1 – Entertainment and public assembly; A2 – Theatrical and indoor sport; A3 – Places of instruction and G1 – Offices, are required to register their buildings and publicly display EPCs by 7 December 2025.
The purpose of EPCs is to indicate the energy performance of a building and serve as regulatory tools/instruments targeting inefficient buildings, encouraging transformation towards energy-efficient buildings,
They are also indicators for building owners to note and change their consumption patterns to benefit financially and comply with regulations, and, in the long term, they promote the reduction of Greenhouse gas emissions through the implementation of energy efficiency interventions using reliable data from existing EPCs.
Deputy Minister Graham-Maré stated: “Incorporating energy-saving methods as required by these certificates is to assist us in reducing our carbon emissions, while easing expenditure on our pockets. The next few weeks are extremely critical if we are to reach our registration target of 60,000. I urge large building owners to adhere, as not only is it beneficial to all of us, but you are also contributing to energy security in our country.”
