Plug-in Solar England

Who owns the wires in your street

Not your energy supplier. It depends on where you live rather than who you pay, and you have to tell them within 28 days of switching a device on.

The nine English areas

RegionOperator
LondonLondon Power Networks plc, part of UK Power Networks
South EastSouth Eastern Power Networks plc and Southern Electric Power Distribution plc, depending where you are
South WestNational Grid Electricity Distribution (South West) plc
East of EnglandEastern Power Networks plc, part of UK Power Networks
East MidlandsNational Grid Electricity Distribution (East Midlands) plc
West MidlandsNational Grid Electricity Distribution (West Midlands) plc
YorkshireNorthern Powergrid (Yorkshire) plc
North EastNorthern Powergrid (Northeast) plc
North WestElectricity North West Limited, but SP Manweb covers Merseyside and Cheshire

Two boundaries that catch people out

The North West is split

Electricity North West covers North West England, but SP Manweb covers Merseyside and Cheshire alongside North Wales. A Liverpool household and a Manchester household notify different companies.

The South East spans two

South Eastern Power Networks and Southern Electric Power Distribution divide the area between them, so there is no single answer for the South East.

Because of both, we treat this table as a working map rather than a lookup. Put your postcode into the operator's own tool before you act on anything here.

What you actually have to do

Nothing at all before you buy, and one short form once it is up. Inside 28 days the operator wants three things from you: a name, an email address, and the address the device is at. The department costed that exercise at five to ten minutes.

No fee is charged for it and nobody is sent out to look at the installation.

One device, not two

The connection rules cap a household at a single plug-in solar device. It is worth knowing that before you plan around a pair of them, because there is no route from one to two.

Ask about your own address

Tell us your postcode and we will confirm which operator covers you.

Give us a postcode and the surface you have in mind. We will confirm which operator covers you, run the generation figures for your actual location rather than a regional city, and tell you whether the planning rules cover your surface.

One reply, by email, written by a person. Your details do not travel on to a retailer.