Investec Ltd. intends to give its private banking clients financing for the installation of solar panels and battery storage systems in their houses, enhancing its own green credentials while also offering a power solution in a country plagued by frequent power outages, Bloomberg Green reported.
The solar power financing initiative, which succeeds a trial program for 1,000 clients in South Africa, will help customers to use underutilized home-loan resources or have money re-advanced to them to put in place the systems, which may cost around $10,000 or substantially more according to the size of the property.
“We are planning on giving our clients access to multiple providers and exclusive solutions,” the Johannesburg-based lender said a response to questions. “We can help clients with a range of needs” for personal and business, it said.
While Investec claims that the solar power financing initiative is in keeping with its policy of committing to “net-zero direct carbon emissions,” it may also appeal to people in a country that has been dealing with power outages and rising rates for more than a decade as the power provider struggles to fulfill demand.
Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., a state-owned company, is asking authorization to raise the cost of its energy, which is mostly generated from coal, by 20.5 percent this year.