Change in regulation gets customer’s solar connected

A customer had their application to install a solar photovoltaic (PV) system declined by the Distributor on the basis of the capacity of the local electricity network infrastructure. The Distributor informed the customer that they would have to either pay to upgrade the infrastructure or install a smaller PV system. The customer complained to the Energy and Water Ombudsman.

The Energy and Water Ombudsman’s investigation considered a range of relevant matters, including the relevant laws, codes and guidelines that applied to the Distributor’s management of the network infrastructure. The Energy and Water Ombudsman found that, at the time the customer’s application was declined, the Distributor was appropriately applying the guidelines to maintain reliable supply to customers connected to the local electricity network infrastructure. However, during the course of the investigation, the guidelines changed to provide that newly installed PV inverters could be managed remotely to manage electricity supply fluctuations. This meant that the customer could reapply to the Distributor for the installation of a PV system as originally requested.