A surface and planning check
We check where the panel would go against the planning rules.
The two operators that cover the South East
Great Britain is split into fourteen distribution licence areas, and almost every English region sits inside just one of them. The South East does not. South Eastern Power Networks plc, part of UK Power Networks, holds the South East England area, while Southern Electric Power Distribution plc holds the Southern England area. Between them they cover Kent, both Sussexes, Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and the Isle of Wight.
We treat that map as provisional, because encyclopaedia entries and old licence lists disagree with each other, and some still use company names that changed back in 2022. You need the right company on the form, so we will not name yours from a map alone.
How to find out which one covers you
There are two ways to check, and the second one is easier.
- Put your postcode into the operator's own checker. Both publish one, and whichever operator answers for its own area is the one that counts.
- Or ring 105, free from any address in England, Scotland or Wales, and you will be connected to whoever runs the wires into your street.
We give you the number rather than the answer
Get it wrong and your form goes to the wrong company, so we would rather hand you the number than guess. Ringing 105 takes a minute and it is right for every address in the country.
Why the operator has to be told
A plug-in solar panel feeds power back into the network, and the network rules cover anything that does. That is Engineering Recommendation G98 Issue 2 Amendment 1. The Energy Networks Association raised it on 1 April 2026, Ofgem approved it on 11 August 2026, and it took effect alongside the regulations that made these panels legal on 27 August 2026.
What the form asks for
The government's own assessment describes a short online form, filled in within 28 days of installation and taking around five to ten minutes. It asks for your name, your email address and the installation address, and nothing more.
The form registers that you are using the product. You are not applying for anything, so there is nothing to wait for and nothing to be refused.
One panel per household
The product specification allows one panel per final ring circuit, but it is the network rules that actually cap it at one per household. That limit comes from the network requirement rather than the product specification, and it stands until G98 changes.
Renting, or in a leasehold flat
None of this changed with the new regulations. Rent or hold a lease and you still need your landlord's or freeholder's consent. The government's response to the consultation names leasehold restrictions, landlord consent and building management as issues that may limit uptake and remain unresolved. Ask before you order.
On this page
- The two operators that cover the South East
- How to find out which one covers you
- Why the operator has to be told
- What the form asks for
- One panel per household
- Renting, or in a leasehold flat
Send us your postcode
Tell us where the panel would go and what the surface is made of. We reply by email, and we say so if it will not work.
Check my address