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How to notify your utility about a plug-in solar kit

Published October 31, 2026

A plug-in solar kit, also called balcony solar, is a small set of solar panels with an inverter that plugs into an ordinary wall outlet. By October 2026, at least ten states had passed laws that let you use one without the interconnection agreement a rooftop system needs. In all ten, your utility cannot require its approval before you install or use the kit.

Whether you still have to tell the utility depends on your state. Of these ten, two require notice before you install, one requires it within 30 days for larger systems, three let the utility ask for it, and four do not mention it.

At a glance

Status on October 30, 2026. The limit is the most the law allows; your kit must also meet the other conditions below.

State Law in effect from Tell the utility? Limit
Maryland July 1, 2026 Required, before you install 1,200 W, one system per meter
Virginia January 1, 2027 Required, before you install (state form) 1,200 W per customer or dwelling unit
Maine July 29, 2026 Required within 30 days for systems over 420 W 420 W; up to 1,200 W with a licensed electrician
Colorado August 12, 2026 Only if your utility asks 1,920 W to the grid, one system per address
California January 1, 2027 Only if your utility asks (online form) 1,200 W per dwelling
New Hampshire January 1, 2027 Only if your utility sets up a way, after you install 1,200 W AC, one system per metered customer
Utah May 7, 2025 Not required by the law 1,200 W per device
Vermont July 1, 2026 Not required by the law 1,200 W per meter, smart meter needed
Connecticut October 1, 2026 Not required by the law 1,200 W, one device per meter
New Jersey March 1, 2027 (six months after signing) Not required by the law 1,200 W per service address or dwelling unit

First, check that your kit qualifies

Each law covers only kits that meet its conditions. California's law says so outright: a device that misses any condition does not get the exemptions, so the ordinary interconnection rules apply. The conditions are similar from state to state. The kit must:

  • stay within the state's power limit;
  • be certified by UL or another nationally recognized testing laboratory (Maine also accepts a system configured under the electrical code adopted in the state);
  • plug into a standard outlet;
  • in most of these states, include a feature that stops it from feeding power into the building or the grid during an outage.

Some laws name the safety standard. Connecticut requires UL 1741 and IEEE 1547. New Jersey requires UL 3700 or a comparable standard, Vermont UL 3700 plus IEEE 1547-2018, and Maine UL 3700, a comparable standard or the electrical-code option above. Certified products are still scarce: Utah's largest utility, Rocky Mountain Power, says that "there does not appear to be any manufacturer whose PIPV product fully meets both applicable NEC compliance and the required UL certifications."

Ask the seller for the certification listing and keep a copy. In Maryland and Virginia you need it for the notice.

States where you must notify your utility

Maryland: before you install

Under Public Utilities Article § 7-321, in effect since July 1, 2026, you must:

  1. notify your electric company before installation;
  2. give it a certification of the kit's safety features and maximum generating capacity;
  3. pay for an automatic locking disconnect switch if your system requires one.

You may install one system per electric meter, for residential use only. The Maryland Public Service Commission's balcony solar page lists the contact for every utility. Pepco and Delmarva Power ask for an e-mail before installation with your name, service address, account number, e-mail and phone, the approximate system size in kW, the manufacturer, whether the system is certified to UL 3700 and/or UL 1741, and whether the property already has solar or other generation. BGE asks you to contact it through its Contact Us page and to tell it again if you move the system.

Virginia: before you install, from January 1, 2027

Code of Virginia § 56-596.8 requires you to notify your electric service provider before installation on a form set by the State Corporation Commission. The form is called "Small Portable Solar Generation Device Notification" (Form SPGDN, effective January 1, 2027). You can fill it in on the Commission's website or on paper. Either way, you print it, sign it and submit it to your utility, not to the Commission.

Sections 1 to 4 of the form ask for:

  1. your name and contact details;
  2. where the kit will be installed:
    • the proposed installation date;
    • the street address of your utility account;
    • your distribution utility, account number and meter number;
    • the owner or operator, if that is someone other than you;
  3. the kit itself:
    • its manufacturer, model name and model or serial number;
    • whether it is a new installation or a replacement;
    • whether it can provide battery backup;
  4. the testing laboratory that certified the kit and the standards it meets. The form gives UL 3700 and UL 1741 as examples.

You also sign a statement that the installation stays within 1,200 W per customer or, in multi-family housing, per residential unit.

You may install once you have fixed anything the utility finds missing or incorrect, or after 15 days without a response from the utility, whichever comes first. If you later remove or replace the kit, submit the form again with Section 5 filled in.

The provider cannot require approval, fees or extra equipment. It may, however, install an automatic, locking disconnect switch if a property has more than one kit or the local circuit requires it. The rule does not apply to rental units billed through a ratio utility billing system.

Maine: within 30 days, for systems over 420 W

Under 35-A M.R.S. § 3475, you may run plug-in systems with a combined inverter output of up to 420 W (AC) per service address with no notice to the utility. Between 420 W and 1,200 W, each system must be installed by a Maine-licensed electrician on a dedicated circuit with a single outlet. You then have to notify your utility within 30 days of installation on the Maine Public Utilities Commission's form. The law covers plug-in battery systems too.

The form asks for:

  • your contact details and account number;
  • the installation date and the type of system (solar, battery or both);
  • the number of systems and their combined inverter rating in watts AC;
  • the manufacturer, model and rating of each unit;
  • the electrician's name, contact details and license number;
  • your signed statement that the installation complies with the law.

Send it to your utility, not to the Commission, by e-mail or mail. Central Maine Power takes it at [email protected] and Versant Power at [email protected]. The form states that it is "for notification purposes only", and the utility may not deny an installation that complies with the law.

States where your utility may ask

Colorado

Since August 12, 2026, a utility may require you to tell it that you use a kit and its size in kilowatts. The law sets no form or deadline, so follow your utility's instructions. La Plata Electric Association, for example, asks members to notify it by e-mail at [email protected]. Connect no more than one kit to a single wall outlet.

California, from January 1, 2027

Public Utilities Code § 8531 lets a utility require a "simple online registration form" with your address and the kit's make, model and size. The registration cannot amount to an approval. This exemption runs until January 1, 2030. We found no utility registration forms as of October 30, 2026.

New Hampshire, from January 1, 2027

Under RSA 362-A:10, a utility may set up a way for you to report the kit's wattage after installation, "for notification purposes only". Each metered customer may use one system with an inverter output of up to 1,200 W AC. The state Department of Energy has to publish a consumer page that covers meter compatibility for each utility.

States where the law does not require notice

  • Utah. Utah Code § 54-15-601 does not mention notice. Rocky Mountain Power's page has no form and confirms that it may not require approval before installation or use.
  • Vermont. 30 V.S.A. § 256 does not require notice. Kits may only be connected where the home has a smart meter, so check your meter type with your utility first.
  • Connecticut. Public Act 26-127 does not mention notice. It allows one device behind your meter and does not exempt it from the State Building Code or the fire codes.
  • New Jersey. The Garden State Balcony Solar Act does not require notice to the utility, and a municipality cannot require a permit to place or use a kit. Electrical work still follows the usual permit rules.

Renters and condo owners

Some of these laws add a notice to your landlord or association. That notice is separate from any notice to the utility.

  • New Jersey: a tenant who pays their own electric bill gives the landlord or association written notice at least 14 days before placing or using the kit, with proof that the kit qualifies and its location.
  • Virginia: a tenant gives the landlord at least seven days' notice. Landlords with more than four rental units cannot prohibit kits, but homeowner association rules are not overridden.
  • Vermont: a tenant gives the landlord at least 10 days' notice. The landlord then has 10 days to set reasonable restrictions.
  • Colorado: from January 1, 2027, unreasonable bans are void, and a property owner may require prior notice of an installation.

You are not paid for exported power

Notifying your utility does not earn you credit for the power your kit sends to the grid:

  • Maryland, Maine, Virginia and Vermont exclude these kits from net metering. Vermont states outright that exported generation "shall not be compensated".
  • Utah and New Jersey exempt them from net-metering program requirements, and Rocky Mountain Power says Utah customers are not compensated for the power their kits feed back.
  • In Connecticut, the law requires a warning that excess generation is charged to you as usage unless your meter allows net metering.

Size the kit to the power your home uses during the day, its base load. The example below uses the calculator's defaults for California; open the calculator to enter your city, base load and electricity price.

If your state is not listed

Without a plug-in solar law, a kit that feeds your home's wiring while it is connected to the grid typically falls under the utility's ordinary interconnection rules, which vary by state and utility. Two examples:

  • In Florida, a customer of an investor-owned utility must sign the Standard Interconnection Agreement and return it at least 30 days before connecting a system.
  • Xcel Energy's installation standard says: "The customer shall inform the Company of plans to install and connect generating equipment to the Company's system."

Check your state on our rules page and ask your utility before you plug in.

Sources

Accessed October 30, 2026, unless noted otherwise.