Plug SolarNZ

Is plug-in solar legal in New Zealand?

Not yet.

Expected around mid-2027, no date set. A 2012 prohibition notice still bans inverters fitted with a plug, and the standard plug-in kits need hasn't been written.

Checked 21 October 2026 against the Ministry for Regulation, the Electricity Authority and the Beehive.

Plug-in solar in New Zealand, step by step to legal

One or two panels on a deck rail or a fence, plugged into an ordinary socket, cutting the daytime part of your power bill. Germany and the UK allow them. Here they are still banned, but the government has agreed to change that.

Work out your payback Email me when it's legal

Two solar panels hung on the railing of a villa deck in afternoon sun, their cable coiled on the boards and the plug resting unplugged near an outdoor socket
Ready, not plugged in. Our own render of a two-panel kit on a villa deck.

Where it stands

Six steps between today's ban and a kit you can buy at the hardware store. Under way now, the safety standard. The Electricity Authority says it is working with MBIE, WorkSafe, EECA and Standards New Zealand on a standard for plug-in kits, looking at Germany's and the UK's, and that the public will be consulted before decisions. No draft has been published.

  1. Review says legalise it 30 Jul 2026 Done
  2. Cabinet agrees 10 Aug 2026 Done
  3. Electricity Authority asks 8 Sep to 6 Oct 2026 Done
  4. Safety standard Being worked on, not published Under way
  5. Rules changed No date set Not yet
  6. First legal kit on sale Expected around mid-2027 Not yet

Each step links to its source on the full timeline. Checked 21 October 2026; we re-check every week.

What has happened

  1. The UK allows plug-in solar, with an 800 W limit on the inverter's output. legislation.gov.uk.

  2. The Electricity Authority opens a consultation on plug-in generation: whether lines companies should be told, whether a register is needed, and how spare power could be paid for. Electricity Authority.

  3. Australia's energy ministers agree to explore ways to allow plug-in devices safely. Australian Government.

  4. The Electricity Authority's consultation closes. Lines companies, retailers, installers and Rewiring Aotearoa have their say; the submissions are public. Electricity Authority.

  5. National promises plug-in panels "off the shelf" within six months if it is re-elected. National Party.

Every date since 2012, and what comes next

Coming up

  1. General election. Electoral Commission.

  2. Official election results declared. Electoral Commission.

  3. No date set

    Rules changed. The 2012 prohibition notice and the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 are amended. This is the step that makes plugging a kit in legal. Nothing has been drafted publicly.

  4. Expected around mid-2027

    First legal kit on sale. Kits that meet the new rules go on sale. The review's 9 to 12 months from July 2026 points to around mid-2027; no minister or agency has given a date.

Election, 7 November 2026

Every party with a policy says yes

The government has already agreed to legalise plug-in solar, so the election changes how fast it comes and whether anyone gets help paying for a kit, not whether it happens.

  • National Shops selling plug-in panels "off the shelf" within the first six months of a re-elected National government. No watt limit or subsidy for kits. 15 October 2026 · National Party
  • Labour SolarSaver: change the rules so renters can use plug-in panels, and subsidies of up to $3,000 for low- and middle-income households. 8 July 2026 · Labour Party
  • Greens Urgently legalise plug-in solar and set up a renters' right to solar. 20 July 2026 · Green Party
  • ACT No separate policy found. Its leader, as Minister for Regulation, led the review and said the government will legalise plug-in solar. 17 August 2026 · Beehive

SolarSaver, the Home Energy Fund and what they would pay for

What a kit would save

An 800 W kit at $1,500, tilted north, with 70% of its power used at home at 35c a kWh. In Christchurch it makes about 1,066 kWh a year and pays for itself in 5.7 years.

Try your own numbers

An estimate from stated assumptions, not financial advice. Sun data from PVGIS, checked against NIWA.

Years to pay back, by city

  • Tauranga 5.4 yrs
  • Nelson 5.4 yrs
  • Auckland 5.6 yrs
  • Wellington 5.7 yrs
  • Hamilton 5.7 yrs
  • Christchurch 5.7 yrs
  • Invercargill 6.3 yrs
  • Dunedin 6.4 yrs

Guides