Privacy Policy for TKS Solar Engineering & TKS Connect

Introduction

TKS Solar Engineering (“TKS”, “we”, “us”, “our”) operates the TKS Connect Energy Management System (EMS), client portals, mobile applications, and related services (collectively, the “Services”). We are committed to protecting your privacy and treating your personal information in accordance with applicable data protection laws, including the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) where applicable, and other relevant legislation.

1. Information We Collect

A. Personal Information

We may collect the following categories of personal information:

• Full name, company name and contact details;
• Email address, telephone numbers and postal/physical addresses;
• Account identifiers and login credentials (usernames, hashed passwords);
• Support communication, queries and feedback submitted to us;
• Any other information you voluntarily provide when interacting with us.

B. System, Device & Technical Information

When you access our Services, we automatically collect certain technical data, including:

• IP address and approximate location information;
• Browser type, device type, operating system and version;
• Dates and times of access, pages viewed and navigation paths;
• Device identifiers, session identifiers and telemetry data;
• Error logs, performance metrics and security events (e.g. failed logins).

C. EMS / BESS / PCS / Metering Data

Our EMS and related systems may process:

• Inverter data, battery state of charge, power flows and energy usage;
• Grid, generator and load statuses, alarms and events;
• Site identifiers, asset identifiers and configuration information;
• Historical performance, trend data and analytics.

This data is used primarily to operate, monitor, maintain and optimise your energy systems and for reporting, analytics and support.

D. Mobile Application Data

Where you use our mobile applications, we may additionally collect:

• Push notification tokens for sending alerts and updates;
• Mobile device identifiers, app usage statistics and crash logs;
• Location data, if you grant permission (e.g. for weather or site context);
• Camera/photos access, where required for uploading site or asset images.

2. How We Use Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• To provide, operate, maintain and improve the TKS Connect platform and Services;
• To authenticate users, manage access rights and secure your account;
• To monitor plant performance, detect faults and generate alerts and reports;
• To perform analytics and engineering evaluations of system behaviour;
• To respond to support tickets, technical issues and customer enquiries;
• To enforce our terms, prevent fraud, abuse and unauthorised access;
• To comply with applicable legal, regulatory and contractual obligations.

We do not sell your personal information to any third party.

3. Legal Basis for Processing

Depending on your jurisdiction, we rely on one or more of the following legal bases:

• Contractual necessity – to provide the Services under an agreement with you or your organisation;
• Legitimate interests – to secure, monitor and improve our systems and Services;
• Legal obligations – to comply with tax, regulatory and security requirements;
• Consent – for certain optional features (e.g. marketing communications, specific app permissions).

4. Sharing & Disclosure

TKS Solar Engineering does not sell, rent or trade your personal information. We may share information only under the following limited circumstances:

A. Service Providers and Partners

We may engage carefully selected third-party providers to assist with:

• Cloud hosting, database and infrastructure services;
• Telemetry, monitoring and analytics platforms;
• Security, incident detection and backup services;
• Communication and notification services.

These providers are contractually bound to process data only on our behalf and in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

B. Legal and Regulatory Requirements

We may disclose information if required to do so by law, regulation, court order, or if we believe in good faith that such action is necessary to:

• Comply with legal and regulatory obligations;
• Protect the rights, property or safety of TKS, our clients or the public;
• Prevent or investigate potential fraud, abuse or security incidents.

C. Internal Operations

Information may be accessed by authorised TKS personnel (e.g. engineers, support staff, operations) strictly on a need-to-know basis for operational and support purposes.

5. Data Security & Retention

We implement technical and organisational measures designed to protect your data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure or destruction. These include, among others:

• Use of secure hosting environments and firewalls;
• Role-based access control and strong authentication practices;
• Password hashing and encrypted communication channels where appropriate;
• System monitoring, logging and alerting for suspicious activity;
• Regular internal reviews and maintenance procedures.

While we strive to protect your information, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, but we will respond promptly to identified issues.

Retention

We retain personal information and system data only for as long as reasonably necessary to:

• Provide and support the Services;
• Comply with legal and regulatory requirements;
• Maintain appropriate records and historical analytics;
• Resolve disputes and enforce our agreements.

Where legally possible, you may request deletion or anonymisation of your personal information (see “Your Rights” below).

6. International Data Transfers

Our Services and infrastructure may involve the transfer and processing of information in countries other than your own, including locations outside South Africa. Where such transfers occur, we take steps to ensure that an adequate level of protection is in place, consistent with POPIA, GDPR and other applicable requirements.

7. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have rights in relation to your personal information, including:

• The right to access the personal information we hold about you;
• The right to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data;
• The right to request deletion, in certain circumstances;
• The right to object to or restrict certain processing activities;
• The right to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent;
• The right to lodge a complaint with a data protection authority.

To exercise your rights, please contact us using the details in the “Contact Details” section below. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request.

8. Children’s Privacy

Our Services are intended for business and professional use and are not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe that a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us so that we can delete the information as required.

9. Cookies & Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies on our website and portals to:

• Maintain secure sessions and authentication;
• Remember certain preferences and settings;
• Measure usage and performance of our Services;
• Improve reliability, usability and security.

You may configure your browser to block or delete cookies; however, some features of the Services may not function correctly if cookies are disabled.

10. Data Breach & Incident Response

In the event of a suspected or confirmed data breach involving personal information, we will:

• Investigate the incident and take steps to contain and mitigate harm;
• Notify affected users and relevant authorities where required by law;
• Implement remedial measures to reduce the likelihood of recurrence.

11. Acceptable Use & Misuse of the Platform

To protect the integrity and security of our systems and our clients, you agree that you will not:

• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to any TKS systems or data;
• Bypass or interfere with authentication, security or logging mechanisms;
• Use automated tools to scrape, extract or copy dashboards, reports or data;
• Introduce malware, malicious code or perform denial-of-service attacks;
• Use the platform for illegal, fraudulent or abusive purposes;
• Share login credentials or allow unauthorised third parties to access the system.

Violation of these terms may result in suspension or termination of access and may expose you or your organisation to civil and/or criminal liability.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technologies, legal requirements or other factors. When we make material changes, we will update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, provide additional notice (e.g. via email or in-app notification).

Your continued use of the Services after changes have been made will constitute your acceptance of the updated policy.

13. Contact Details

If you have any questions, concerns or requests regarding this policy, please contact us:

• Email: connect@tks.co.za
• Phone: +27 12 653 9660
• Address: 50 Kambathi St, N4 Gateway Industrial Park, The Willows, Pretoria East, South Africa