Electricity: portable solar generation devices

The law removes utility fees, approval requirements, and interconnection paperwork for small portable solar systems that meet specified safety standards. It also sets a future sales restriction for nonqualifying plug-in solar devices.

What the law does ​

• Exempts qualifying portable solar devices of up to 1,200 watts per dwelling from state, utility, and publicly owned utility interconnection requirements until January 1, 2030.
• Bars electrical corporations and local publicly owned electric utilities from requiring prior approval, device-related fees, or extra controls or equipment.
• Allows utilities to require a simple online registration listing the device address, make, model, and size, without making registration an approval process.
• Limits the exemption to plug-in photovoltaic devices that meet electrical-code, testing-certification, and outage-isolation requirements.
• Beginning January 1, 2030, bars sale or offering for sale of certain plug-in solar devices that lack required electrical-code, certification, or grid-isolation features.

Who it affects ​

• Residents and other utility customers using qualifying plug-in solar devices to offset onsite electricity use.
• Electrical corporations and local publicly owned electric utilities.
• Sellers of plug-in photovoltaic energy generation devices beginning in 2030.

Context ​

The exemption applies only to devices designed to prevent electricity from feeding back to the grid during a power outage.