Installing and connecting your renewable energy system to the electricity network.
If you’re considering installing a renewable energy system, depending on your property and the type of installation, you may need to get planning permission or a building warrant from your local planning authority. Make sure you have the right permissions in place before you start.
You should always use a reputable installer who is certified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) and uses MCS-certified products. This will help you to ensure the quality of your installation and the level of customer care you receive. To be eligible for payments from the Smart Export Guarantee, your system must be installed by an MCS-certified installer.
For all renewable energy systems, you should talk to more than one installer and obtain at least three quotes.
Electricity North West owns and maintains the electricity network in the North West. Each property is entitled to connect up to 3.68kW of generation at single phase, or 11.04kW of generation on a three-phase supply, as part of permitted rights (note: most houses and small business will have a single-phase supply). Where this is the case, your installer should carry out an assessment of the property’s current electrical supply and submit notification paperwork to us after they have completed the installation if there are no issues identified.
For larger installations or where your installer identifies potential issues with the current electrical supply to the property, you or your installer need to let us know or make an application to connect your system to the electricity grid.
It’s important that you talk to us first so that we can assess whether we need to carry out work to the local electricity network before you connect your new installation.
If you're installing a generator and/or storage at a single premises, it’s unlikely that we'll need to carry out work. For larger projects, we may need to build new infrastructure which will affect the time and cost of your project.
If your existing supply can’t support the installation, your installer will apply to us for an upgrade. For more information visit our connections page.
Here's where to go for more advice on installing your renewable energy system.