Last reviewed: 4 September 2026. Checked against the G98
connection standard and the Plug-In Solar Amendment (SI 2026/848).
Nothing happens immediately, and that is exactly why people skip it. There is no inspector, no
fine in the post and no automatic detection. But the notification takes about ten minutes, costs
nothing, and skipping it quietly moves several risks onto you: your insurer, your network operator
and any future buyer of your house all have a reason to care.
What the obligation actually is
Under G98, generation connected to the low-voltage network works on a fit and inform
basis. You install and commission first, then tell the distribution network operator within
28 days. You are not asking permission and there is nothing to wait for.
This is a genuine duty rather than a courtesy. Your DNO operates the network your kit is now
feeding, and it plans that network on the basis of what it knows is connected. If you need to work
out who yours is, see how to find your DNO, and for the form
itself, how to fill in a G98 notification.
What does not happen
Let us be honest about the enforcement reality, because pretending otherwise damages the
credibility of everything else on this page.
| Common fear | Reality |
|---|---|
| A fine arrives automatically | No. There is no automatic penalty regime for a householder who forgets |
| Someone inspects your balcony | No. Nobody is checking |
| Your smart meter reports you | No. It measures import and export, and a self-consumed kit mostly reduces import |
| Your supply is cut off | Not for this alone |
[VERIFICAR: whether any DNO has published an enforcement action against a
householder for an unnotified micro-generation connection. We found none in primary sources, and we
are not going to imply a risk we cannot evidence.]
What does happen, and why it matters
The consequences are real but indirect, and they surface at the worst moments.
Your home insurance
Insurers ask whether alterations and equipment comply with applicable standards. An unnotified
connection is a connection made outside the process the standard sets out. If a fire or an electrical
incident ever involves that circuit, the notification, or its absence, becomes a document in the
claim. This is covered in does plug-in solar
affect your home insurance.
Selling or letting the property
Conveyancing enquiries increasingly ask about generation equipment. An unnotified kit is an awkward
answer, and it is the kind of loose end that delays a sale for a fortnight over something that would
have taken ten minutes to do properly.
The network genuinely does not know
This is the argument that persuades engineers rather than lawyers. Distribution networks were
designed to send power one way. As thousands of small generators appear on the same street, voltage
rise and protection settings stop being theoretical. Your single 800 W kit changes nothing on its own.
Ten thousand invisible ones do, and the operator cannot plan for what it cannot see.
There is a self-interested version of the same point: if voltage on your street drifts out of the
statutory range, your inverter will disconnect and you will lose generation. You want your operator to
have accurate data, because you are one of the people it protects.
Warranty and support
Some manufacturers ask for evidence of a compliant installation when handling a warranty claim. If
your kit fails in year three, being asked for a notification reference you never obtained is an
avoidable argument.
What if you already installed it and never notified?
Notify now. There is no penalty for a late notification and no advantage in leaving it. The form
asks for the commissioning date; put the real one. A householder correcting an oversight is an
entirely ordinary thing for a DNO to receive, and it is far better than a gap that surfaces during an
insurance claim.
- Find your operator by postcode.
- Have the inverter make, model and its ENA type test reference to hand.
- Submit the G98 form with the actual commissioning date.
- Keep the confirmation with your house paperwork, alongside the receipt.
The awkward case: a non-compliant kit
If your inverter is not on the ENA type test register, notifying will expose that, and the answer
is not to stay quiet. An unlisted inverter has not been tested to disconnect the way the network
expects, which is a safety question rather than a paperwork one. Check yours against
the compliance checklist, and if it
fails, the purchase itself may be the problem — see
Section 75 claims.
In short
Nobody will come after you for skipping the notification, and we are not going to pretend
otherwise. But it is free, it takes ten minutes, and it is the difference between a documented
installation and an undocumented one on the day something else goes wrong. That asymmetry is the whole
argument.