The outdoor socket
Why it needs an electrician.
Read moreWho yours is
Fourteen distribution licence areas cover Great Britain between them, and Nottingham, Leicester and Derby fall inside the one National Grid Electricity Distribution (East Midlands) plc runs. We treat that as a working map rather than gospel, checking each address on the operator's own postcode tool before we send anything.
There is a route that skips maps altogether: ring 105. It costs nothing, works from anywhere in England, Scotland or Wales, and puts you straight through to whichever company runs the network at your address.
One name you may see
You might still see this company listed as Western Power Distribution on older paperwork. It took the name National Grid Electricity Distribution in 2022, though the network and the wires underneath it never changed.
What goes on the form
The government's own impact assessment pictures this as a short online form: five to ten minutes of your time, done within 28 days of the panel going in, and asking only for your name, your email and the installation address.
We talk about this as something you are asked to do, not a deadline with teeth, because the assessment is describing an intended process rather than an offence. It is also a Great Britain scheme only, so Northern Ireland is not part of it. We fill the boxes in together on the day of the visit.
Why it is one per household
Ofgem signed off this change on 11 August 2026 after the Energy Networks Association proposed it back in the spring, and it started alongside the rest of the framework on 27 August. The upshot is Engineering Recommendation G98 Issue 2 Amendment 1, which holds every household to one plug-in solar device, tighter than the one per final ring circuit the product specification would otherwise allow.
The register the device has to be on
A manufacturer cannot sell one of these devices until it has been type tested against G98, entered on the ENA Type Test Register, and confirmed as compliant. Nothing we arrange comes from outside that register.
Bought something already and unsure where it sits? Send the make and model along with your enquiry and we will check.
Questions about the paperwork
Can you do it without me?
No, because your own name and email have to go on it. We work through the form alongside you rather than on your behalf.
What if I move house?
The registration is tied to the address, not to you personally. If you move, take the device with you and register it fresh at the new house.
Does National Grid need to approve it before I fit it?
No. Under this framework you register a compliant device once it is fitted, rather than seeking approval before it goes in.
More about the fitting
On this page
- Who yours is
- What goes on the form
- Why it is one per household
- The register the device has to be on
- Questions about the paperwork
Ask us about your house
Give us your postcode and say whether a kit is already bought. We will get back to you by email.
Send my postcode