As of
13 September 2026
We are watching three things. One is settled. One is still open. One has a deadline.
Plug-in solar has been permitted in Great Britain since 27 August 2026.
SI 2026/848 amends the Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 so a standard plug may be approved for a plug-in microgenerator, and amends the Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002 to require compliance with the Interim Product Specification. The statutory ceiling is a maximum rated alternating current output of 800 watts.
Engineering Recommendation G98 Issue 2 Amendment 1 took effect alongside it, restricting households to one device.
There is no date on this one and no indication of when there will be.
Regulations 1 and 2 of the instrument extend to Northern Ireland. Regulation 3, the ESQCR amendment, does not. G98 applies to Great Britain only, and Northern Ireland connection requirements sit under G98/NI. The product specification states that applying it to Northern Ireland has not been decided, and may need the specification amended before it can be.
Consultation respondents also asked whether there were Windsor Framework implications. The government acknowledged the question without answering it.
The planning transitional period ends.
Since 27 August 2026 you can follow either the permitted development rules as they stood immediately before that date, or the new ones. That choice ends on 27 August 2027, after which only the new rules apply. If you have a timber balcony, this deadline decides whether your installation is still allowed.
We send one email when there is real news: the open question, or the 2027 deadline, moving. Otherwise, we send nothing.