Do You Need to Notify Your DNO About Plug-In Solar?

If you have bought, installed or are thinking about plug-in solar in Great Britain, the short answer is yes: small scale generation connected to the electricity network is expected to be registered with your local Distribution Network Operator (DNO). For systems within the 800W category this site covers, that normally means a straightforward notification after connection, not a permission request before it. Here is what that means in plain language.

Processes evolve, so always confirm the current instructions with your own DNO. This guide covers Great Britain; the position in Northern Ireland is different and is flagged below.

What is a DNO?

A Distribution Network Operator is the company that owns and runs the local electricity network in your area: the cables, substations and connections that bring power to your home. Great Britain is divided into DNO regions, and your DNO depends entirely on where the property is, not on who you buy electricity from.

When you connect anything that pushes power back into your home wiring and potentially the wider network, the DNO has a legitimate interest in knowing. The network was designed around power flowing one way, and DNOs track connected generation to manage voltage, safety and network planning.

Does plug-in solar need to be registered?

In practice, yes. Generation equipment connected to the distribution network is covered by connection standards administered through the Energy Networks Association's engineering recommendations. The relevant one for small systems is commonly known as G98.

G98 applies to small scale generation with an output of up to 16 amps per phase, which works out at roughly 3.68kW on a single-phase supply. Every plug-in solar system within the 800W inverter limit sits comfortably inside G98 territory.

The key point is how G98 works for the smallest systems: it is a connect-and-notify framework. You connect the equipment, and then you notify the DNO within a set period. It is not a system where you must ask permission and wait for approval before you plug anything in.

When does notification need to happen?

Under G98, the DNO must be notified of the connection within 28 days of commissioning, meaning within 28 days of the system first being switched on and generating. Notification happens after connection, not before.

That 28-day window is the figure quoted in DNO and Energy Networks Association material for G98 devices. Advice about asking permission first is almost always about larger systems under G99, which works on a permission-first basis. More on that distinction below.

What the process looks like in practice

For a plug-in system with an inverter rated at or below 800W, the realistic sequence looks like this:

• Confirm the product's inverter rating and conformity paperwork before buying, using our guide on what to check before you buy.
• Have the intended socket and circuit assessed by a qualified electrician, as set out in our plug-in solar safety checklist.
• Connect and commission the system according to the manufacturer's instructions.
• Notify your DNO within 28 days of commissioning, following that DNO's current process.

There is now a shared national route as well as operator-specific ones. The Energy Networks Association runs ENA Connect Direct, a single online application service covering domestic low-carbon technology connections across the UK network operators. It is built around installers, who register and submit on the customer's behalf, so if someone is fitting the system for you it is worth asking whether they will submit through it. Individual DNOs also publish their own notification forms: National Grid, for example, provides an online G98 notification form and states it should be completed within 28 days of commissioning. Routes vary by operator and are changing, so check your own DNO's current instructions rather than assuming any single form applies to you.

What G98 means in simple language

G98 is the Engineering Recommendation that sets the rules small generation devices must meet to connect to the GB network. In simple terms, it does two jobs:

• It sets the technical requirements the equipment itself must meet, so that devices behave safely and predictably on the network. Compliant inverters are tested and certified against these requirements.
• It sets the process for telling the DNO: connect first, then notify within 28 days of commissioning.

As a buyer, you mostly feel G98 through the paperwork: a compliant product should come with certification documentation that a DNO notification may reference. If a seller cannot show it, walk away, as we explain in our buying checklist.

How to find your DNO

Your DNO depends on the property's location. The easiest routes to identify it:

• Use the Energy Networks Association's DNO finder, which maps a postcode to the relevant operator.
• Check your electricity bill: some suppliers list the local network operator, though many do not.
• Look at your supply number (MPAN) on a bill: the first two digits identify the distribution area.

Do not assume your electricity supplier and your DNO are the same company. They almost never are, and notifying one does not count as notifying the other.

Information you may need when notifying

Exact requirements vary between DNOs and may change, so treat this as a preparation list, not a guaranteed form field list:

• The address and postcode of the property where the system is connected.
• The supply number (MPAN) from your electricity bill, if requested.
• The date the system was commissioned.
• Details of the equipment: manufacturer, model, and the inverter's rated AC output.
• Confirmation of the product's conformity or G98-related certification, if requested.
• Your contact details as the person responsible for the installation.

Have the product documentation to hand: it makes the process quicker.

Notify after connection, or permission before?

This is the distinction that causes the most confusion:

• G98 (up to roughly 3.68kW per phase): connect, then notify within 28 days. Plug-in solar at or below 800W falls here.
• G99 (larger systems): apply and wait for permission before connecting. This is the framework for bigger installations, not for plug-in kits.

If anyone says you must apply for permission months before plugging in a small kit, they are describing G99, which does not apply here. If anyone says no notification is needed at all, be cautious: the documented position is that G98 notification applies.

What happens if you do not notify?

Published guidance does not set out a neat, universal list of consequences for a householder who misses G98 notification for a small device, so we will not guess. What can be said honestly:

• The notification requirement exists in the connection framework, so skipping it leaves your installation outside the documented process.
• Unregistered generation can create complications if you later deal with your DNO about the connection, sell the property, or claim on insurance involving the installation.
• Because the process for small systems is simple and usually free, there is little practical reason to avoid it.

If you have had a system connected for a while and never notified, contact your DNO, explain the position, and follow its instructions. Guidance generally points toward regularising the notification rather than punishing late registration, but your DNO's word is the one that counts.

Supplier versus DNO: who do you actually tell?

Two organisations, two jobs:

• Your electricity supplier sells you energy and bills you. It reads (or estimates) your meter and sets your tariff. It does not run the local network.
• Your DNO owns the network your home is physically connected to. Generation notifications go to the DNO.

Telling your supplier about plug-in solar is not a G98 notification, and vice versa. Whether you also tell your supplier is a separate question covered in the FAQs below.

Renters and flats

DNO notification is about the electrical connection, not about who owns the building. If you rent, the G98 notification still applies to a connected system, but it sits on top of a separate obligation: you need your landlord's written permission before fixing panels to a building, balcony or railings, and in flats the freeholder or managing agent may also need to consent. Our guide to whether tenants can install plug-in solar covers the permission side in detail.

In practice, settle the landlord conversation before commissioning, because commissioning starts the 28-day notification clock.

Northern Ireland is different

Everything above describes Great Britain. Northern Ireland has its own network operator, NIE Networks, and its own version of the rules, published as G98/NI, with its own application and commissioning stages rather than the GB process described above. If the property is in Northern Ireland, follow NIE Networks' own guidance rather than anything here.

DNO notification checklist

A practical run-through for a plug-in system at or below 800W:

• Confirm the inverter's rated AC output is at or below 800W and keep the product's conformity and certification documentation.
• Get the intended socket and circuit checked by a qualified electrician before connecting.
• Identify your DNO using the Energy Networks Association postcode finder.
• Check your DNO's current registration route: online form, email, or legacy G98 paperwork.
• Connect and commission the system per the manufacturer's instructions, and note the commissioning date.
• Submit the notification within 28 days of commissioning, including equipment details and documentation if asked.
• Keep a copy of the notification and any acknowledgement.
• If you rent, make sure landlord or freeholder consent is in writing before you commission.
• Tell your home insurer, separately from the DNO.

The bottom line

Plug-in solar in Great Britain sits under G98: you connect first, then notify your DNO within 28 days of commissioning. Notification goes to the network operator for your area, not your energy supplier, and for the smallest systems it is a simple registration rather than a permission process. The exact route varies by DNO and is evolving, so confirm the current instructions with your own operator, keep your product documentation, and keep a copy of whatever you submit. It is one short administrative step on top of a safe installation.

Want to see what a compliant plug-in setup could save you? Calculate My Savings using your region, roof or balcony orientation and tariff for a realistic savings range.

For the wider rules around the 800W limit, wiring and permissions, see our UK regulations page and our official resources list.